When Dreams Come True
by musicofthenight32
Summary: Meet Ashley Tisdale, a small girl with big dreams who gets paired off with Lucas Grabeel in the movie High School Musical. Will Ashley's dreams come true and will she fall in love or will professionialism drown everything? A Luley fic, author's update up!
1. Chapter 1

Ashley Tisdale nervously entered the large room, fidgeting with her sheet music. She glanced around and saw three men sitting at one wall, along with a piano in the middle of the room and another wall devoted to numerous mirrors.

She cleared her throat, hoping to clear away the butterflies in her stomach and put on a shaky smile.

"Name, please?" One of the men called to her.

"Um, Ashley Tisdale…" She murmured, stepping closer to them.

"Alright, Ashley, what song are you going to sing for us?" Another man with dark hair and glasses asked kindly, standing up and shaking her hand.

"Popular from Wicked." She replied and handed the music to the man who had asked her name. He took the papers and sat down at the piano.

"Whenever you're ready dear." The be-spectacled man said lazily, sitting down and picking up a clip board. Ashley whispered to the guy where she wanted to start then nodded to show she was ready.

Licking her lips she tentatively began, _"Whenever I see someone less fortunate that I, and let's face it, who is it? Less fortunate than I. My tender heart tends to start to bleed, and when someone needs a makeover, I simple have to takeover. I know, I know, exactly, what they need…" _

She continued singing getting stronger and stronger with each line until she finished with a bang on the line: "_You'll hang with the right cohorts, you'll be good at sports, know the slang you've got to know! So let's start, cuz you've got an awfully long way to go!"_ Ashley held the note then slowly faded out, momentarily forgetting where she was and what she was doing.

"Very nice, very nice!" The dark haired man exclaimed, standing up again and crossing the room towards her.

"I am Kenny Ortega, director and choreographer of the film. Thank you very much for coming here today, we'll be in touch for the callbacks. Have a nice day, Miss Tisdale!" He said shaking her hand again then handing her the music back.

She gave him another small smile then turned and walked out of the room, her body still in semi-comatose from singing. She really wanted to be in the movie-musical, she hoped it might be a breakthrough for her.

_Please, let my dreams come true…Please…_ She prayed as she went back to her hotel to start the inevitable waiting game that was known at theatre.

**Well, this is like the prologue or something like that! I'm not sure if I'm going to continue or not so please tell me if you like it and if you want me to continue! I'm sorry this is short, if I continue; I'll make the next chapter a lot longer! Reviews please, at least 5! Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas Grabeel strode into the audition room with what he hoped was an air of confidence. There were three men sitting against one wall conversing quietly, so Lucas took a moment to look around at the room that could possibly change his life.

There was a piano sitting in the middle of the room, a wall of various mirrors and a few microphones and chairs along the opposite wall. Finally the man with dark hair broke away, rose to his feet and walked over to Lucas.

"Hello, name please?" He asked kindly.

"Lucas Grabeel." He said, hoping he sounded professional.

"So Lucas, what are you going to sing for us today?"

"Dancing Through Life, from Wicked." He said, handing him the sheet music.

"Ah, another Wicked fan…" Dark-haired Man mumbled to himself before handing the music to the man who had sat down at the piano. Lucas leaned down and whispered what part he was going to sing to the pianist that nodded to show he was ready.

Cracking his neck slightly, he began to sing, _"The trouble with schools is, they always try to teach the wrong lesson, believe me I've been kicked out of enough of them to know. They want you to become less callow, less shallow, but I say 'Why invite stress in?' Stop studying strife and learn to live the unexamined life…Dancing through life, skimming the surface, gliding where turf is smooth, life's less painless for the brainless. Why think too hard, when it's so soothing.  
Dancing through life, no need to tough it, when you can sluff it off as I do. Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters its just life so keep dancing through..."_

He continued singing getting louder and louder as he danced his way around the room, finishing with his arms out stretched, holding his note for as long as he could.

The dark haired man stood up and clapped, crossing the room with a broad grin on his face. "Excellent, perfect!" He exclaimed.

Lucas smiled sheepishly, taking his music back from the pianist. "Thank you…" He muttered, clearly embarrassed.

"I'm Kenny Ortega, Director and Choreographer of the movie. It was very nice to meet you; we'll be in touch for the callbacks." Kenny said, shaking Lucas' hand and nodding.

Lucas smiled, then left the room, still beet red from the director's reaction. He got in car and started to navigate his way back to the hotel.

He sighed, hoping that he would at least get a callback, because he really wanted to be working for Disney again, and this show seemed right up his alley.

_Hey, maybe I'll even meet a pretty girl along the way._ He thought, trying to keep his mind of the long wait that was ahead of him.

**This is sort of the second part of the prologue, and don't worry the next chapter really will be longer. I know I said that last time, but then I decided I wanted to do Lucas' audition too. Thank you for the reviews and please keep them coming, I love hearing from you and receiving your feedback! **


	3. Chapter 3

Ashley sat jiggling her foot impatiently, holding her cell phone in one hand and staring at the hotel phone on the night table. She had been sitting on the edge of her bed since she had woken up at 6:30 that morning. It was now nearly 5 in the evening.

She felt her eyelids start to droop and gradually dozed off. Ashley jumped and fell off her bed, hitting her head on the night table while flipping open her cell phone.

"Hello!" She called, still have asleep. The phone kept ringing. She stared at her cell for a few moments before realizing it was the hotel phone that was ringing.

"Hello?" She asked more awake this time.

"Yes, yes, yes! Oh my God! Yes, I'll be there! Thank you!" She exclaimed happily, pulling herself to her feet and momentarily forgetting about the growing bump on her head.

She leapt around the room, screaming her head off until the manager came and requested that she quieted down because there were other guests in the hotel.

Sighing, Ashley flopped back onto her bed, waiting for sleep to overtake her.

The next morning, Ashley rolled out of bed, threw on a pair of white shorts with a baby blue tank top and left her hair down, tousled, with hair elastic around her wrist. She put her sweat shirt on and drove back to the studio.

The blonde rushed into the building, hoping she wasn't too late. She ran up three flights of stairs before slamming into a young man with dark, spiky hair. They both fell to the ground, Ashley screaming along the way.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" She blurted out, while giggling awkwardly. He chuckled, reaching down and pulling her to her feet.

"I'm Charles Klapow, you can call me Chucky. I'm the choreographer." He said, shaking her hand.

"I'm Ashley Tisdale; um I'm trying to find the call back room place. Can you help me?" She replied, hoping not to sound too desperate.

"Sure, I'm heading there now, come on." Ashley and Chucky made it to the large room just in time. Kenny turned and smiled at them, beckoning them inside.

"Glad you two could make it. I was just about to get started. Have a seat." Ashley and Chucky parted, Chucky standing next to Kenny and Ashley sitting down next to a girl who looked vaguely familiar.

She had long, dark, wavy hair and amber colored eyes. "Vanessa." The girl whispered.

"Ashley." She replied while Kenny did his introductions then called out who was trying out for which part.

I went of with the people who were auditioning for a girl named "Sharpay." _Hmm…interesting name…_ She thought, as she surveyed the other "Sharpays" in the group.

Another group of boys was sitting in the room as well. They were the "Ryans." Kenny walked into the room again, immersed in a pile of papers and hardly noticing they were in the room. Finally, someone coughed and he looked up.

"I'm sorry, I was distracted. Well then, let's just started." He began calling names out and putting them in pairs. Ashley was paired with a guy named Lucas Grabeel.

He caught her eyes and gave her a smirk, almost as if he had a secret. Ashley wanted to know that secret, terribly. He had short, wild blonde hair, large blue eyes and a very pale complexion.

"You will be singing and dancing with your partners for the rest of the day, so why don't you all get together, introduce yourselves and get to know one another. It's going to be a long day…" The exuberant director called then clapped his hands.

"Hi, I'm Lucas; it's very nice to meet you." He said, extending his hand, which she clasped. It was warm and dry.

"I'm Ashley, likewise." She replied smoothly, ignoring the fluttering of what she thought was nerves in her stomach.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked coyly, again holding out his hand to her.

She hesitated before again taking his strong hand in her own and feeling the sparks fly between their skin.

**Sorry about the length between the chapters. It's really hectic right now with school and such. Hope this sort of makes up for it. Thank you for the positive feedback and please keep it coming! Oooo…what will happen next? Keep reading and find out. As always read and review! See ya later!**


	4. Chapter 4

"_Do you want to dance?" He asked coyly, again holding out his hand to her. She hesitated before again taking his strong hand in her own and feeling the sparks fly between their skin. _

She intertwined her fingers with his and he wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him. They started slowly, cautiously stepping around the other people, and periodically on each other's feet.

After a few moments, Ashley couldn't take the silence anymore and took a deep breath. "So, do you have any um, back ground in theatre?" She asked uncertainly.

"Well, I've always loved music and I was in a few plays before, but television wise, I've only been in a few things. How about you?" They were falling into a steady rhythm of turned every few steps and swaying at the same time.

"I did _Les Miserables_ a long time ago and have been in miscellaneous stuff since then. My most recent television escapade in this new show called _The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. _And that's about it." She replied, closing her eyes and resting her head on his broad shoulder.

They hadn't noticed everyone else going silent until someone rustled some papers and they broke away, blushing furiously. Kenny hid a smile and cleared his throat.

"Now that I have your attention, let's get started." And so they did each pair singing through a few songs such as, "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top." Lucas and Ashley sang the best, save for one other pair named Caryn and Rob.

Kenny and Chucky also taught them a dance called "Were All in This Together." It was supposedly the finale of the show and also the song that everyone got to sing in.

Endless hours later, everyone who was auditioning grouped together for lunch before they all tried the finale as a group. Ashley met up with Vanessa and they sat down outside under a large tree.

"How was your callback?" Vanessa asked shyly, while opening a bottle of water.

"Awesome, I really like my partner, how was yours?"

"Really great, I got paired with a really cute guy named Zac every time. What's your guy's name?"

"Lucas. Lucas Grabeel."

"Oh! He was in Halloweentown!" Vanessa exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh yeah, you're right!" Ashley replied, scanning their fellow diners, looking for a particular blonde. A brunette walked up to them instead.

"Hey Vanessa!" He said warmly, sitting down next to the curly haired singer. Vanessa squealed, spilling water down her front and blushing a bright crimson

"Hey Zac, this is Ashley, Ashley this is my partner, Zac!" Ashley nodded at Zac, too distracted to really recognize him for the gorgeous being that he is.

Lunch soon ended, and the three surged along with the crowd back into the studio.

"Alright everyone!" Kenny called over all of their voices when they all were settled in the large dance room. "We'll go you in groups for the simplicity of it. Now don't worry if you mess up or not, just keep going. Okay? Let's go then!"

Ashley, Lucas, Caryn and Rob were in the same group and stood in a row. Ashley kept sending glares Caryn's way because she was talking to Lucas.

"Ready? 5, 6, 7, 8!" Chucky yelled and they all moved as one, singing at the top of their lungs.

"_Were all in this together, once we know that we are, we're all stars and we see that…"_ The young actors finished the first verse and looked towards Kenny expectantly. _I don't think I did terrible; I only stumbled twice and missed an arm movement or two…_ Ashley thought worriedly.

"Awesome job all!" The director said before calling up the next group. At the end of the day, everyone dragged their feet out of the building, exhausted.

Ashley was halfway to her car when she heard someone call her name. "Ashley!" She turned around in time to see Vanessa rushing towards her.

"Hey Ash! Do you want to come out with me, Lucas and Zac? We were thinking of grabbing a bite to eat." Ashley thought for a split second then grinned.

"Of course I do!" She squealed. "Just let me get changed."

"Yeah, I'm going to change too, no one like's eau de sweat!" Vanessa replied, giggling.

They exchanged cell phone numbers then went back to their respective hotel rooms. Ashley got back to her hotel room and quickly showered, blew dry, plucked, and made up her face before throwing on a pair of jeans and a quarter length tee.

She arrived at the restaurant that Vanessa had texted her about and felt her heart drop, seeing Caryn sitting next to Lucas at their table. Putting on a sassy smile, Ashley quickly closed the gap between her and Lucas, and flung herself down across from him.

_Let the games begin…_ Ashley thought, watching Caryn flirt audaciously with Lucas _and _Zac

**Hey all! Not sure how I feel about this chapter, but it's a filler, leading up to the _real_ story, so please bear with me until we get to that point. Anyway, yet again sorry about the gaps between chapters. In a perfect world, I would write everyday and be done with this story at some point this millennium. Sadly we must deal with this world for now. Thanks so much for the reviews and as always keep them coming! I need all the criticism I can get or else I'll never improve my writing! Until I update again, peace, love and rock N' roll!**


	5. Chapter 5

_She arrived at the restaurant that Vanessa had texted her about and felt her heart drop, seeing Caryn sitting next to Lucas at their table. Putting on a sassy smile, Ashley quickly closed the gap between her and Lucas, and flung herself down across from him_.

Let the games begin… _Ashley thought, watching Caryn flirt audaciously with Lucas and Zac. _

As soon as Ashley had sat down, Lucas looked up at her and gave her a small wink. She felt her heart do a cart wheel but remained relatively calm on the outside be giving him an arched brow and sly smile.

They both sat staring at each other until they burst out laughing at their ridiculousness. Caryn abruptly stopped talking with Zac and turned back towards Lucas.

"So…Luke…" She started flirtatiously, playing with his spiky hair. Ashley and Vanessa turned smoldering eyes on her then turned toward each other.

"Bathroom." Ashley mouthed to Vanessa, who quickly nodded and the two young women excused themselves.

As soon as they were safely in the bathroom, Ashley whirled around in a circle trying to find something to take her anger out on. She kicked the trash can as hard as she could then felt tears well up in her eyes from pain. Vanessa put a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"What are we going to do? If Kenny sees Caryn and Lucas together, having more chemistry than he and I do, he will pick them for sure!"

"But aren't your characters brother and sister?" Vanessa asked cautiously, helping Ashley to her feet.

"Well, yes, but they still need to have some sort of connection. Like their voices need to blend well and they need to act like twins and stuff!" She exclaimed, blowing her nose on a piece of toilet paper.

"But you have the upper hand, because Lucas is _your_ partner right now. So don't let that stupid twit walked all over you. Go out there and show her you mean business…but in a subtle way. You don't want to come on to strong towards Lucas."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ashley asked, while regaining her composure.

"You, _so_ have it bad for him! Don't try to deny it." "Well, he's cute, but I just met him! We're not even friends yet! How about you and Zac?" The blonde shot back to cover up her embarrassment.

"Hey, that's different! He's a teen idol, of course I feel slightly attracted to him, but like you said, we're not even friends yet!" Vanessa replied, turned pink.

"Yeah okay," Ashley said not believing a word Vanessa had said. "We should probably head back out there." Vanessa nodded and the two exited the rest room.

Lucas and Zac both stood up when they saw their friends approaching and Zac pushed Vanessa's chair in for her.

Caryn looked over at Ashley and gave her a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "So, Ash, how's it going?" She asked, sickly sweet.

"I'm spectacular, Carrie, and yourself?" Ashley replied, just as sweet but narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Wonderful." Carrie said, starting to get annoyed.

Ashley then averted her eyes from Caryn and caught Lucas' eye. "Hey Lucas, ready for another awesomely awesome day tomorrow?" She asked.

"Oh, totally!" He replied, just as sarcastic as she had been. The waiter approached their table, carrying trays of food. Ashley sent as inquiring look towards Lucas as a large plate was placed between them.

"Oh, while you were in the bathroom, I, um, ordered for you. I figured we could split a plate of nachos. I could send it back if you wanted something else…" Lucas mumbled, looking down at his hands.

"Oh! No! Thank you! I love nachos!" Ashley exclaimed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it reassuringly.

He looked back up grinning. "What a relief, I thought you were going to say 'I hate nachos!' Or something." She giggled and they both started eating. All the while, Caryn was sending them looks of hatred.

After a little while, there was one chip left and both Ashley and Lucas reached for it. They stood lightly tugging on it, until they realized that the other was holding and both dropped it.

"You can have it!" They said in unison. "No you!" Then they started laughing again. Lucas took the chip and broke it in half, handing the larger piece to Ashley.

"Bon Appetite, Mademoiselle!" He said in a mock French accent which sent her into another peal of giggles. Finally, Caryn couldn't stand it anymore and cleared her throat.

"Hey Lucas, would you like to share a piece of brownie cake for dessert?" She asked, stroking his hand slightly with her thumb. "Um, sorry but I'm too full to eat another bite of anything, I think I'll just have a cup of coffee or something." He replied kindly, while pulling his hand away from her.

Ashley expertly hid a smile and caught Vanessa's eye. The brunette girl gave her a not so subtle thumbs up which Ashley returned quickly.

About a half hour later, they all exited the restaurant. Vanessa and Zac took the lead, standing closer together than one would normally stand and talking quietly, completely in their own world.

Caryn was trying to engage Lucas in conversation, while he was grabbing his coat. Ashley decided she had had enough battling with Caryn for one night and walked ahead of the two, alone.

She was trying to remember the fastest way back to her hotel went she felt a pair of hands grip her shoulders and spin her around. She shrieked into the night and jumped before losing her footing and collapsing.

Instead of kissing the concrete, she felt herself suspended in the air by a pair of strong, pale arms. The arms flipped her over and she found herself inches away from a certain blonde person's face.

"Lucas!" She exclaimed, hitting him on the shoulder as he righted her.

"Oh gee, that's the thanks I get for saving your life." He asked, feigning hurt.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, first of all, you so didn't save my life; you saved me from falling onto the ground. And second of all, you're the reason as to _why_ I almost fell down!" She said, pretending to be angry, while really basked in the glow of being held by him.

For the third time that night, they started laughing together; not noticing anyone else around them and Lucas draped his arm across her shoulders.

Ashley rested her head down on his shoulders, finally realizing just how exhausted she was. She fell into a state of semi-consciousness, not noticing where she was walking, letting Lucas take the lead.

"Ashley, hey, Ash, wake up. I need to know what room you're in!" She heard Lucas call to her, as if he was miles away, rather than inches.

"316…" She mumbled against his arm and he slowly helped her into the elevator and pushed the button for her floor.

"Lucas, how did you know what hotel I'm staying at?" She asked sleepily, hoping conversation would keep her awake.

"We all are in the same hotel, I'm actually a few rooms away from yours." He replied, his voice echoing through his body to her ears. She nodded, still slightly dazed while he led her off the elevator.

"Room key?" He whispered in her ear. She stood up slightly and pulled the key out of her pocket and handed it to him.

He let them in then lifted her up and placed her down on the bed. Lucas leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Ashley. I'll stop by tomorrow and we can go to the studio together." Ashley mumbled something incoherent and nodded again, finally falling into a deep slumber.

**Yay! I finally updated! I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I made up Caryn and Rob. Thanks a bunch for all of the reviews. That was a good turn out and I am quite grateful for it. So, what do you think of the story so far, of this chapter and where do you think this story should go? Should it also be a Zanessa (I don't really like Zac/Vanessa together but I could learn to deal) or a Vanessa/someone else? Let me know and as always keep reading and reviewing. And send me any of your stories or anything along those lines, because I love reading them! Until we meet again…**


	6. Chapter 6

After a long two days of singing, dancing, exhaustion, laughter and fatigue, the last day of the callbacks finally arrived. Lucas rushed into the studio, for once in his life late.

He sprinted up the steps and wrenching open the door to the designated room, gasping for breath. A heavenly voice reached his ears and he slowly ambled the rest of the way into the room.

Ashley was sitting at the piano, her fingers brushing the keys lightly and singing softly.

"_And then a hero comes along, with the strength to carry on. And you cast your fears aside and you know you can survive. So when you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong and you'll finally see the truth…that a hero lies in you…" _He stood frozen in time, not noticing that she had stopped singing, turned around and was now staring at him.

He snapped out of his trance and put on an offhand smile. "Hey…um, Kenny needs us in the other music room ASAP!" Lucas said, remembering the message he'd received from the director as he'd rushed through the building.

"Oh, okay!" Ashley replied, rising from her perch in front of the piano. As she was turning to leave, her foot got caught behind the chair and she flipped over the seat and landed on her back.

Lucas rushed forward to help her but she stood up immediately, laughing hysterically. He rolled his eyes, grasped her hand and dragged her down the hall to the room that they first met in.

Caryn and Rob were standing in the middle of the room, chatting it up with Kenny. Ashley cleared her throat and the three stopped conversing.

"Now that you all are here," Kenny started, shooting a playful look towards Lucas and Ashley, "I can brief you on what we're doing here. You two are the only ones left for the roles of 'Sharpay' and 'Ryan.'

So we're going to have a little competition of sorts. I have decided on two songs that the four of you know. We will flip a coin, the ladies will call it and then I will give you roughly 10 minutes to put together a sort of mini-performance. Now I'm not looking for anything fancy!" He said hastily after seeing the timid expressions on the couple's faces.

"All I want is a duet, dancing optional but please try to make it your own." Kenny instructed, clapping Lucas and Rob on their shoulders then pulling a coin out of his pocket.

"I'm not going to tell you what the choices are until after we've flipped. Ladies…Call it!" He exclaimed, tossing the coin in the air.

"Tails!" Caryn yelled.

"I was gonna call tails! Heads!" Ashley shrieked.

"Tails. Caryn and Rob, you have 'Baby, It's Cold Outside!' Lucas and Ashley, 'The Tango: Maureen!' Get to it folks!" Kenny called excitedly then sat down in the corner of the room with some papers.

Lucas and Ashley looked at each other and shrugged. "You've seen the movie or play right?" Lucas asked.

"Duh!"

"Sorry, I had to ask. I guess we just warm up. Okay, another stupid question: Can you tango?" The look Ashley gave him was answer enough and he quickly stopped asking questions.

Quietly they warmed up their voices and stretched. "Are you ready?" Kenny called, turning on a CD player and stretching his back. They all nodded, looking around nervously.

"Caryn and Rob, you got the call so you go first, step right up and let's see what you've got." Caryn smirked at Ashley and strutted to the center of the room.

Rob rolled his eyes at the blonde pair and grabbed the microphones. He crossed over to her and tossed her a mic. She turned it on and tossed her hair. The music started and Caryn began singing in her sickly sweet, simpering voice.

'_I really can't stay, I've got to go away…' 'Baby it's cold outside, Baby it's cold outside…' _ The pair walked in circles around each other, winking and smiling at one another.

Finally they ended in an embrace with the line, _'Baby it's cold outside!'_ She wrapped her legs around his waist and they mock kissed.

Kenny leapt to his feet, clapping his hands. "You guys are so charismatic! What chemistry! Awesome!" He exclaimed, making a few notes on a sheet of paper.

"Right then, moving on! Lucas and Ashley, your turn! Let's see what you've got!" Lucas turned towards Ashley and gave her a dazzling smile.

"Ready?" He asked expectantly.

**Woah, please don't be mad! I really did mean to update last week but I couldn't think of anything! So, to make up for it, I'm giving you a cliffhanger! Don't worry the next chapter will be up by early next week at the latest! Anyway, how's it going? I love reading your reviews, seriously! They make my day, so please keep sending in the feedback! Thank you! And any suggestions or comments can be sent too! Lots of love! Catch you later! Oh and I don't own anything in this except Caryn and Rob! Byezers! **


	7. Chapter 7

"_Ready?" He asked expectantly_.

Ashley hesitated, biting her lip and looking at her feet. "Hey, what's up? Ash?" Lucas asked, glancing at the other pair nervously.

She shuffled her feet and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Lucas leaned down so that his lips were grazing her ear.

"Trust me, can you trust me?" He softly pressed his lips to her temple, not a kiss but definitely a friction-causing contact. She sighed, leaning heavily against him for just a moment and nodding.

"I trust you." She murmured back then the two walked into the middle of the room. Ashley nodded at Kenny who turned on the music.

She sang over her shoulder to Lucas before walking "angrily" forward. Lucas closely followed straining to add tension between them.

'_The Tango: Maureen, it's a dark dizzy merry-go-round! As she keeps you dangling,' 'You're wrong!' 'You're heart she is mangling!' 'It's different with me!' 'And you toss and you turn cuz her cold eyes can burn! Yet you yearn and you churn and rebound!' 'I think I know what you mean…The Tango: Maureen…' _The continued walking around in circles until Lucas grabbed Ashley's wrist and spun her around so they were in a tango pose.

She paused momentarily before following his lead and slowly tango walking backwards. It was almost as if they had been rehearsing the number for months, the two were completely in sync with the exception for a few turned ankle mishaps.

'_When you're dancing her dance you don't stand a chance! Her grip of romance makes you fall!'_ During these lines, Lucas lifted Ashley up and spun her around his body before gripping her to him.

She "slipped" down his body, running her hands over his lean torso, before he hauled her back up and they plastered together with their arms outstretched in the tango walk.

'_So you think "might as well,' 'Dance a tango to hell!' 'At least I'll have tangoed at all!' _They twisted around together before finishing their duet in another lift.

This time Ashley wasn't expecting it and half-laughed, half-shrieked as Lucas wrapped her legs around his waist and tilted their heads together so they both were facing Kenny.

Both were panting hard, smiling in a fatigue sort of way. Ashley disentangled herself from Lucas and slid to the floor. Silence echoed through the room and Lucas and Ashley shared a look that spoke volumes.

After what seemed like eons, Kenny began clapping. Rob soon joined in and together they clapped and cheered whilst Caryn rolled her eyes and studied her perfectly manicured nails.

"That was by far one of the most phenomenal unprepared duets I have ever had the pleasure of watching! I must say that you two definitely have something, I can't really put my finger on it but there's something between you guys that makes you 'pop!" His voice rang joyously through the room and the two fair haired and fair skinned actors flushed a light rose.

"Well you four, excellent performances today! I am quite impressed. I'll give you the results tomorrow, have a nice night ladies and gentlemen!" Kenny said excitedly, ushering them out of the room and walking the opposite way down the hall.

They glanced at one another and shrugged then proceeded to exit towards the stairs. As they were walking, Lucas, Ashley and Rob were chatting about music when suddenly Ashley felt a pressure on her back.

She turned around and glanced at Caryn, who was pretending to be absorbed in what Rob was talking about. Ashley shook it off and continued walking.

Again she felt a push on her back but ignored it. Finally she was shoved so hard she nearly fell! Enraged, the blonde whirled around.

Caryn was standing with a "mildly surprised" look pasted on her face. Ashley narrowed her eyes and clicked her teeth together.

"Is there a problem?" Ashley asked in a voice laced with sugar and slight annoyance.

"No, is there a problem with you?" Caryn replied just as sarcastic. Ashley shook her head and the two rushed to catch up to the boys.

"Hey what's up?" Rob asked when the girls reached them.

"No!" They said in unison, feigning innocence.

The young group was onto the last stairwell when Ashley felt her self tumbling forward.

"Ashley!" Lucas yelled, reaching for her but it was too late. Ashley saw a whirl of color, heard voices yelling and then was submerged in darkness.

**I so told you I would update soon! Think of it as my apology for not updating at all for almost two weeks! What do you guys think, twisty huh? I sort of surprised myself! Anyway, thanks for the reviews and as always keep them coming! I don't really know where I'm going from here but I can tell ya, this is going to be my longest story ever! I'm kind of dragging it out but is that really a bad thing? We haven't even gotten into the movie yet and already Ashley is getting hurt! Goodness! Right…off track…focusing! See you all around! Later!**


	8. Chapter 8

"_Ashley!" Lucas yelled, reaching for her but it was too late. Ashley saw a whirl of color heard voices yelling and then was submerged in darkness. _

Lucas, Rob and Caryn remained still for a few shocked-filled moments until suddenly, Lucas burst into action. He bounded down the remaining steps and crouched next to the fallen blonde.

Rob and Caryn however stayed where they were. "Well don't just stand there! Do something!" Lucas shouted to them and Rob nodded at him.

"Rob, go find Kenny! Run!" Rob nodded again and sprinted up the steps. "Don't even think about it!" Lucas yelled at Caryn, who had been sidling back up the steps.

Lucas turned his back on the 'princess' and looked down at Ashley. He checked her pulse and found it a little erratic and faint but definitely still there.

Kenny and Rob jumped down the steps and skid to a stop next to Lucas. "Lucas, pick her up! Rob, use my phone to call the hospital, the numbers on this card. Caryn, get in the car! Let's move people!" The director ordered, swiftly pulling out his keys and ushering them out to his car.

Lucas and Rob sat in the back with Ashley propped up against them while Caryn sat up front with Kenny.

"Now who can tell me what happened?" Kenny asked, glancing at Ashley in his rear-view mirror. "We were walking down the steps and all of a sudden she collapsed!" Caryn jumped in quickly before the boys could respond.

"That's not true!" The actors shouted in unison. "Lucas, tell me what happened." Kenny said, trying to keep his cool. "We were walking down the steps, like Caryn said when _someone_ shoved Ashley down the steps. I think she might have hit her head because she passed out."

"That's not true!" Caryn screeched, turning beet red.

"Yes it is, stop lying Caryn!" Rob cried suddenly. "You've been jealous of Ashley the whole time and now she's unconscious because of you! So don't try to lie you're way out of this one because I won't let you!" He exclaimed angrily. "Neither will I!" Lucas agreed.

"Enough!" Kenny yelled, silencing the teens. He pulled into the hospital parking lot and quickly parked. The group ran into the emergency room and Kenny quickly filled out the forms.

While they were waiting for a room to be prepared, Ashley groaned and her eyes fluttered. "Ashley, Ash? Can you hear me?" Lucas asked softly, tilting her head towards his.

She moaned again and finally opened her eyes. Kenny was immediately at her side. "Ashley? Can you hear me?" Kenny asked in a clear voice. She nodded, wincing in pain.

"You're going to be alright, I promise." Kenny murmured.

"Tisdale, Ashley?" A nurse called, interrupting the director's sort of conversation. Again, Lucas hefted Ashley into his arms and they all quickly followed the nurse before a scene broke out.

While the doctors examined Ashley, Kenny began interrogating the teens again. After much persuasion and a few arguments, the whole story came out. Kenny nodded silently, his face impassive while he mulled over what they had told him. Finally he turned towards Caryn and took her hand.

"Caryn, I am very disappointed in you. You are very talented and I was seriously considering you, but-"

"But what, huh?! You pick her over me because you feel sorry for her?! So what if I pushed her?! People fall all the time! This is ridiculous! I am a much better choice than her! I have more chemistry with Lucas than she has with all of the men who tried out for the role combined! I cannot believe this! How could you choose her over me?!" She screamed hysterically at the director.

He looked into her eyes for several minutes until finally he sighed and stepped back. "This is why I have chosen Ashley over you, because she isn't a Prima Donna who's too full of herself and too spoiled. Yes, you are talented and yes you have chemistry, but she has one thing that you don't have."

"And what's that?" Caryn asked icily.

"A dream" He said softly, then turned and walked down the hall. Caryn stood gaping after him, before turning on her heel and strutting down the opposite hall, out of the hospital, and out of their lives.

"Well that was different…" Lucas muttered after a few minutes.

"You can say that again." Rob replied.

"Well that was different…" Lucas repeated. They both chuckled.

"I should go, I think it's pretty obvious that you got the part. Maybe I can find another audition on my way to the airport. It was nice to meet you Lucas."

"Thanks man, it was nice to meet you too. Good luck, Rob." They shook hands and Rob, too, slowly walked away.

About a half hour later, Kenny returned, carrying two files and two cups of coffee. He handed and cup and file to Lucas and smiled at him.

"Thanks…" Lucas said, sipping the beverage. "Congratulations." Kenny said. Lucas cocked an eyebrow at him.

He flipped open the file and on the first page, in big, extravagant letters were the words:

**HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL**.

"It's your script, along with a contract and a few other general forms. I'm going to see if I find Ashley's doctor. Why don't you go in and make Ashley's day?"

The director suggested mildly then winked at Lucas and went off to find the doctor. Lucas grinned and stood up, stretching his muscles before knocking softly on Ashley's door.

"Come in!" She called and he slowly entered the room. She was sitting up on an examination table, playing with a stethoscope.

"Hey!" He said, jumping up on the table next to her. "Hey yourself!" She replied, putting the stethoscope down.

"How are you?" Lucas asked uncertainly, his eyes roaming her body, looking for signs of breaks.

"I'm a little worse for wear. Apparently, I have a mild concussion, bruise a few ribs, turned my ankle and I sprained my wrist. The wrist is the worst thing though, besides that fact that I'm covered in bruises. I guess I got of easy." She said, lifting her swollen wrist slightly.

"They still need to put a brace on it but they say it won't be on for too long and I get to go home tonight! Oh and don't worry, my ankle will be better in a few days, I just can't put too much weight on it."

"That's really great." He said, smiling warmly at her.

"I know!" She squealed.

"By the way, Caryn and Rob are gone. I don't think we'll see them again, at least not anytime soon. Oh and I have something for you."

"What?" She asked excitedly. He smirked and whipped out the folder. "Congratulations, sis." He said coyly.

"What do you mea-" Ashley started to ask but the realization dawned on her. "Oh. My. Gosh!" She screamed, throwing her good arm around Lucas' neck.

He chuckled as she disentangled herself and flipped through her folder. "This is so awesome!"

He nodded, happy that their dreams were finally coming true.

**Yeah it's cheesy and kind of rushed but I'm trying to move things along at a moderate pace. So, wasn't that fun? YAY! They got the part and Caryn's gone! So what do you think? Any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions? I love feedback! Keep reviewing! I don't really know where to go from here but I'll work on that. What do you guys like and don't like about the story and what can I do to make it better? Let me know! Until I update again…Peace out!**


	9. Chapter 9

The newly casted colleagues were given a week to go home, rest up, pack and get any other issues out of the way before they were to board a plane and be flown to California.

Ashley's injuries had slowly faded save for the brace that still supported her wrist. Other than that she had very minimal pain in her ribs due to the "healing process."

Now Ashley was waiting to exit the plane. _This is so amazing! I cannot believe I'm in California getting ready to film a movie! Not to mention the company isn't all that bad…_ She thought, smiling secretly to herself.

After quite awhile she found herself waiting, yet again, for her bags to appear on the belt. While she was searching the luggage, she zoned out and didn't notice someone coming up behind her.

The person leaned over her shoulder and took a deep breath. "ASHLEY!" The voice yelled.

She shrieked and whirled around, entangling her ankles in her carry on bag and collapsing in a heap with the other person. She looked up into the eyes of none other than, Corbin Bleu.

He was currently laughing hysterically at her and easily sprang to his feet. She rolled her eyes, trying to calm herself down while he lifted her up as well.

"How's it going?" He asked, also searching for her bags.

"Pretty good, how about you?"

"Pretty great!" The charismatic boy exclaimed.

"Hey, those are my bags!" Ashley said suddenly, pointing to a group of lime green and pink bags. Corbin nodded, lunged forward and jumped onto the carousel.

"Hey this is fun!" He yelled to Ashley, leaping over all of the other bags then heaving her bags towards her feet. He whooped loudly, laughing out loud while Ashley covered her face in embarrassment.

Finally, an airport official came over and forced Corbin to get off of the belt. Laughing, the two ran out of the building to the car.

Ashley stopped short at the sight of the limo. "Nice, huh?" Corbin asked, chuckling at her expression.

A tall man with kind eyes folded his newspaper and walked over to the pair. He took the bags and put them in the trunk then opened the door for Ashley. She giggled and thanked him and he winked at her.

While cruising along the highway Corbin and Ashley caught up on what they had been doing for the past week. They had met during one of the callback days during their lunch break and had instantly hit it off.

Once at the hotel, the driver carried her bags inside and helped get them onto a luggage cart. She checked in and they strode to the elevator.

The extravagant doors opened up, revealing Lucas Grabeel, who was leaning casually against the wall. Ashley felt her insides lurch and a sort of zing surge through her body. He gave her an easy smiled and stepped back to let them in.

"Lucas, what's up man?" Corbin asked, punching a few random buttons on the panel.

"Nothin' much, you?"

"Oh, same old, same old. Just retrieving the princess here on orders from the king."

"Excuse me?!" Ashley cried in mock anger. "_Princess?! _ Don't you mean _Queen?!" _Then she started giggling. "That rhymed!" The other two started laughing as well.

"So other than ruling a kingdom, what have you been up to?" Lucas asked, turning towards Ashley and giving her a small smile.

She giggled and replied, "Well, obviously I've been oh so busy what with planning the next ball and such. But other than that it's been the usual torturing of the common people and abusing my power as princess to be as obnoxious as possible!" She cried dramatically, tossing her hair and batting her eyes.

"Not that you have to work hard to do that." Lucas joked, cocking his head to the side.

Ashley and Corbin gasped comically, simultaneously yelling, "Oh no you didn't!"

"I do believe I did…" Lucas smirked at them before the trio burst into more laughter. The bell dinged and the exited the device.

"What room are you in?" Corbin asked Ashley. She glanced at the room key in her hand. "627. What rooms are you guys in?"

"625." Lucas replied.

"630." Corbin said. "Cool, well I think I should report to his Highness. I'll catch you guys later!" Corbin called, strolling down the hall and turning out of sight.

Lucas and Ashley entered her room and Ashley looked around. "Wow…" She breathed. "It's huge!" she exclaimed, spinning around in circles. He chuckled.

"Oh, by the way, we have to meet everyone else at the studio in about 20 minutes. Do you want to grab a cup of coffee on the way there?" Lucas asked.

"Sure, I can unpack later on! Let's go!" She grabbed his arm with her good hand and led him out of her room.

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After getting coffee and walking to rest of the way to the studio, Lucas and Ashley followed a small crowd into a large room. A huge, round table with multiple swivel chairs was set up around it.

Ashley spotted Vanessa talking to a dark skinned girl with even darker, curly hair. Chucky, Corbin and Zac were also conversing. Kenny was chatting with some people she didn't recognize and there were lots of other strangers wandering around.

Lucas squeezed her hand and they walked over to Vanessa.

"Hey Nessa, Monique!" Lucas greeted, hugging both of them.

"Oh, Ashley, this is Monique, Monique this is Ashley."

"Hey girl!" Monique said, shaking Ashley's hand. "Hey!" Ashley instantly warmed towards Monique. "Can anyone tell me what we're doing here?" Ashley asked hoping she didn't sound stupid.

Before anyone could reply, Kenny clapped his hands and told everyone to take a seat. The four glanced around at each other and sat down together. Zac and Corbin came over and sat with them as well.

"Welcome all! Today we start the making of the newest DCOM, High School Musical!" Everyone cheered.

After the noise had subsided, Kenny started again, "Today we will just do a read through of the script and we will play the demo tape version of the songs. Then, tomorrow we will begin learning the songs so we can begin recording. After that is out of the way, we move to Utah to begin rehearsing and filming…"

Kenny continued to go on about group efforts and communication but Ashley couldn't listen anymore, she was far too excited! "So let's get started, shall we?!" Kenny yelled then began passing down scripts and music.

A hum of excitement coursed through the room. "Flip to page 2 and start the music!" Kenny called and strains of a new song filled the room.

**Thank you all! So this chapter is to introduce the other cast members and don't worry the next part will be up soon! The latest will be Friday, I hope. So did you like this chapter? I liked introducing Corbin…hee hee! Um, thank you for the reviews and be sure to check out my other completed writings and review those too! Catch you all someday soon! **


	10. Chapter 10

Three days later, all of the music had been learned, rehearsed and most of it had been recorded. They were almost finished, all that was left was: 'Bop to the Top, Breaking Free, Were All in This Together and I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You.' Pretty much the end of the movie.

Lucas and Ashley were awake and at the studio hours before any of the other actors were because they had to finish of their duet and make sure all of their other songs were perfect.

Immediately upon arrival, the two were pushed into a recording room and head phones were thrust at them. They took a few minutes to warm up and then the pre-recorded music filled the room.

Lucas looked over at Ashley and gave her the "come hither" look with his eye brow. _"Mucho gusto!" _She tried her hardest not to giggle and took a deep breath.

"_Aye que-"_ She began but burst out laughing, forcing them to start again. This happened two more times until finally; she bit her tongue and forced the three words out.

After that, it was pretty much smooth sailing, save for the occasional giggling, forgetting then adding different words and at one point, Ashley getting tangled in the cord attached to her head phone and collapsing in a heap on the floor.

By the time the roughly two minute long song was recorded, a few hours had passed. Zac and Vanessa were in a different room, working on 'Breaking Free' and everyone else was probably either sleeping or just waking up. Because of the sunny California weather, the pair got coffee and bagels and ventured into the mid-morning sun.

Lucas flung his lean body down on the grass and pulled gently on her ankle so she landed next to him.

"So, how's it going?" He asked easily, spreading cream cheese on her bagel then starting in on his.

"As if we haven't spent the last 3 going on 4 days together!" She joked, knocking him slightly on the head. He laughed and the lapsed into silence.

"Okay, fine! We should do something!" Lucas said excitedly.

"Like what?"

"I dunno, maybe we could play some Frisbee, go mini-golfing, watch a movie, do something fun!"

"Hmm…How about we go swimming! The hotel has a pool, doesn't it?" Ashley asked, now getting excited herself.

"I'd assume so…yeah let's do it!" Lucas jumped to his feet and pulled Ashley to hers. They grabbed a cab back to the hotel and quickly got changed.

On the way down to the pool, Ashley thought of something. "Will they get mad at us for leaving and swimming and not working?"

"Eh, as long as we're back by around lunch time I don't think it will matter." This seemed to work for her and they continued into the large room. Half of the pool was inside and half was outside and it was heated. Lucas instantly stripped off his shirt and did a sleek dive into the turquoise water.

After a few moments he resurfaced, spitting a thin stream of water out between his lips. She chuckled as he followed her in the pool while she walked over to a group of chairs and laid out her stuff.

"Oh, come on Ash! Get in!" He called, drifting around on his back.

"Give me a few minutes, jeez!" She called back, rubbing sun block onto her shoulders, neck and arms. She finally meandered to the edge of the pool and dipped her toes daintily into the water.

He pulled himself out of the pool and gave her a lazy smile. "Get in the pool Ashley!" He half spoke, half whispered.

"I'll get in when I'm ready!" She replied, mock-irritably.

"No…you'll get in _now!"_ He cried dramatically, pushing between her shoulder blades, causing her to fall into the pool. She shrieked momentarily before going under the surface.

He jumped in after her, laughing hysterically. She pushed off the bottom and surfaced, choking, sputtering and spitting mad. "Lucas Grabeel!" She yelled, lunging towards him.

He was too busy laughing to respond so she splashed at him angrily. He gave her a look of mock-surprise and quickly reciprocated the splash. Soon they were in a full-blown splash war that would have gone on forever, if the hotel staff had not ended it.

They agreed to a "truce" and spent another half hour floating around in the sun until Lucas glanced at the clock and fell off of the floating device he'd been lounging on.

"If we want to keep our jobs we'd better shower up and get going!" He said sadly and pulled himself out of the water. She quickly followed and they parted ways at the locker rooms, agreeing to shower quickly and meet in the lobby of the hotel.

Lucas was done a good 10 minutes before Ashley and when she finally emerged, he gave her a look that said, "what took you so long?" She rolled her eyes and flicked the hair out of her eyes.

They rushed back to the studio and skidded into the main room just in time. "Ah, Mr. Grabeel, Ms. Tisdale, how nice of you to join us." Kenny said kindly, ushering them into the big recording room.

"Alright you four, let's get this finale started in here!" He yelled and the catchy music began to play. The main four spent two hours singing the song over and over again, doing silly dances, spinning around and laughing. Finally the song ended and they took a much deserved break.

"So, where did you two disappear to?" Vanessa asked, eyeing the two with a slight gleam in her eyes. "The pool, duh!" Ashley joked, sipping her water.

The girls started laughing and Lucas eyed Zac and Drew Seely, the main singing voice for Troy, looking quite confused. They mirrored his confusion but when they confronted the two girls, they denied anything.

"We haven't really been properly introduced, I'm Zac Efron, and it's great to meet you!" Zac said, taking Ashley's hand and raising it to his lips.

"Well Zac, I'm Ashley and it's very nice to meet you too!" They started laughing too and pretty soon the four of them began laughing. "Alright everyone, back to work!" Kenny called, gesturing them back into the studio.

Ashley and Lucas had a great time recording 'I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You' because it gave them a chance to let loose and really work their vocal cords. Lucas especially worked his towards the end when he scared the girls by bursting out with a tremendous, "_I can't take my eyes!"_ towards the end of the song.

They jumped, hit their heads on the microphones and exclaimed at the same time causing the recording to cease and heads to be kissed and rubbed.

After the girls had been calmed down and the song had been perfected, the day was almost done, so the four plus Drew drove back to the hotel to change clothes and then decided to again meet in the lobby so they could go out to dinner and discuss the upcoming movie.

**Hey! Sorry if the timing is off in this but if I go that far, I'll have the 'I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You' video done again so Zac can "sing" in it. Right so what do you think, I thought I'd add a bit more humor into this before the real movie magic begins, which will happen next chapter! squeals excitedly! Okay enough of that, thank you so much for the feedback and keep it coming! I think I'll add more Zac and Vanessa plus Monique and Corbin in this during the rehearsal. Really this is going to be among the last of the "building chapters." So enjoy and I'll post again soon! **


	11. Chapter 11

-15,6,7,8!" Chucky yelled, hoarse from shouting out instructions and counts. Ashley forced her sore muscles to move through "What I've Been Looking For" for about the thousandth time.

Lucas gave her a look that said, "Shoot me now!" She nodded and they finished the song in the "pose." But, instead of staying upright, Ashley overstepped and collapsed pulling Lucas down with her.

He landed on top of her but caught himself with his capable arms before he completely crushed her. She started laughing and he paused before chuckling and rolling off of her.

"Uh, not quite guys!" Chucky called up to them from his sitting position on the edge of the stage. Just then, Kenny popped his head in and stared at the horizontal blondes heaped on the floor.

"Okay, Lucas, Ashley, get up and come with me! We need to begin the finale! Chucky, you too!" The three shrugged and Lucas helped Ashley up then they proceeded down the hall to the large gym they were using for the "big" numbers.

Once they arrived, they saw that everyone else was already there and stretched. Ashley rushed over to Vanessa and Monique who were laughing at a story that Corbin was telling.

"…And then I jumped out from behind the couch and yelled "Squab!" and the woman screamed and totally freaked out on me!" He finished, leaving the two girls in stitches.

"Oh hey Ash!" Corbin cried, putting his arm around Ashley's shoulder and squeezing her to him.

"Ew you're sweaty!" She screeched and pushed his arm off her shoulder.

Suddenly someone gripped her around the waist and spun her in a circle. "Zachary David Alexander Efron! Put me down!" She screamed and he placed her back on the ground.

"Hey, I was just saying 'hi!'" He said, giving her a boyish grin. "Oh please!" She muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, let's get started shall we?" Kenny yelled into a megaphone, causing everyone to jump.

Chucky and Bonnie stepped to the front of the gym and told everyone to get in rows. "Ready? Here we go!" Chucky yelled and they all began moving with him.

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Hours later, Chucky and Kenny deemed the day done and Ashley and Vanessa fell to the ground in relief. The gym cleared out in record time but the two girls refused to move.

"Come on guys, we can pig out on pizza and brownies and watch movies for the rest of the night!" Zac coaxed, pulling lightly on one of Vanessa's curls. She groaned and half-heartedly swatted his hand away.

"Ashley, if you don't get up I'll be forced to carry you…" Lucas warned. She considered this "threat" for a moment then half rolled over and held up her arms.

He leaned over and lifted her easily then twisted her around him so he was giving her a piggy back ride. Zac did the same with Vanessa and slowly the two lugged the exhausted teens to the van.

Upon arrival at the hotel, the boys dropped Vanessa and Ashley at their door then turned and entered their room across the hall. When the girls finally figured out their room key and stumbled into the suite, they found that Monique was already showered and was lounging on the couch with her laptop sending out e-mails.

The two sweaty beans looked at each other then raced for the shower. They began arguing about who deserved the shower more.

"I did hours of dancing before the finale rehearsal!" Ashley cried.

"But I have a longer part in the finale than you do and I, um, am taller!"

"Are not!" "Are too!" "Are not!" "Are too!"

"SHUT UP!" Monique yelled causing them both to squeal and jump around. "We'll settle this like adults! Pick a number between 1 and 10!"

"7!" They cried in unison. "Hey that's my number!" They said together again.

"Girls! Stop! We can flip a coin…Ashley is heads, Vanessa is tails!" Monique flipped the shiny coin and dropped it. "Um…Vanessa gets to shower first! So there, come on Ashley! Let her shower!" Monique the peacemaker said, pulling the blonde out of the bathroom and pushing her into the main room.

Ashley sighed dramatically, grabbed her toilet kit and left the room.

_Knock knock knock! _Lucas answered the door wearing but a towel. Ashley blushed and almost dropped her kit but retained her dignity and smiled at him.

"Am I catching you at a bad time?" She asked coyly.

"You could say that…" He replied, stepping back to let her in. "what's up?"

"I was wondering if I could steal some water and your shower? Please?"

"Uh, sure…don't you have a shower in your suite?"

"Duh, but Vanessa won the coin flip and I came over here! It was terrible!" She cried dramatically. Lucas patted her arm sympathetically.

"Well my shower is your shower so knock yourself out!" He said and lightly shoved her into the bathroom. Once inside she sighed in disbelief.

_Oh my gosh, I'm in Lucas' bathroom and he's out there naked! Ahhh!_ She mentally screamed. _Right, focus…_ She quickly turned the water on and showered away the stress and a bit of the soreness of the day.

After about 20 minutes, she jumped out and wrapped herself into one of the fluffy towels. _Haha woops, I forgot clothes…brain lapse! _She decided to just rush across the hall in the towel and then send it down with the laundry.

But as she was coming out of the bathroom, Lucas was walking by and she slammed into him and fell. Ashley clutched the towel around her and repositioned herself so she wasn't too exposed. He closed his eyes and helped her back up then turned around and laughed in an offhand way.

"Sorry…"

"No, no! It's my fault!" She cried. "Thanks for the shower, uhhh, see you later!" She mumbled then rushed into the hall.

Some creepy, old guy was leaning against the wall and gave her a big up-down look. "Ew!" She screeched and fumbled the key into the slot. After she was safely inside her own room, she slid down the door and closed her eyes in exhaustion.

"What happened?" Monique asked, not even looking up from her book.

"You don't wanna know!" Ashley replied then skipped to her room and flung herself onto her bed, spent.

OH MY GOSH! I am **_SO_** sorry that I haven't updated in so long! The hard drive on my laptop crashed so I didn't have a computer for like 10 days! It was tragic! I tried to make up for it by making this longer and developing the relationships between the actors so things can get stirred up…ooh…So thanks for the reviews and everything!! Um, I'll try to update more often but I can't promise you guys anything! So any ideas for drama for my story? I need to keep you guys awake while your reading this so let me know!! Well, thanks for being so awesome and until I post again… 3


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, Ashley stumbled out of her room wearing shorts and a tanktop with a sweat suit over it. She had tossed her hair back into a pony tail and slipped on her shoes then ventured into the hall.

The only other person on the floor was Zac, who had been casually leaning against the wall, fiddling with his cell phone. "Hey you!" He greeted cheerily, slipping his phone into his pocket and looping his arm around her waist. "Hey yourself." She replied back sleepily.

He led her down the steps, deciding not to wait around for the elevator. A driver was waiting in front of the hotel and he quickly whizzed them to the studio. Everyone else was sleeping in because they didn't have to be in for another hour or so.

Zac and Ashley had to come in early to rehearse a scene with Vanessa. Nessa had risen an hour earlier than the pair to work on her solo. Zac held the door for Ashley and they quickly rushed up the steps to the main room with the big, comfy chairs and the coffee machine.

Ashley gladly poured herself a cup and downed half of it in one swallow. "Oh, I feel much more awake now!" She said happily, stretching her back just as Vanessa and Kenny walked in.

"Good morning! Ready to have some fun?" He asked, plopping into a chair and pulling out his copy of the script.

"What kind of fun?" Zac whispered in Ashley's ear, causing her to giggle and Vanessa to shoot a jealous glace her way.

"Yeah that's completely impossible!" Zac started and Ashley paused for a split second before jumping in with, "What's impossible, Troy? I didn't think 'impossible' was in your vocabulary! Oh, so nice of you to show our new _classmate_ around!" She said, trying to overact a little bit. They restarted the scene a few more times, altering the words and changing some parts until Kenny finally sent them to the gym to dance/play basketball.

The whole time they were walking to the stairs, Zac and Ashley kept up an easy banter. "You know I think I like you as a blonde…" Zac said half-jokingly.

"Oh really, well dream on mister!" She retorted, feeling bad for Vanessa.

Zac gasped. "But don't dreams come true?!"

"Only realistic dreams!" She made up, not sure what to say.

"Someday you'll face reality, Ash! Catch you two later!" He said, going down the stairs leaving Vanessa and Ashley in an awkward silence.

"I guess we should get to the main room, I think we're doing 'Were All in This Together' today." Ashley said quietly, gesturing up the stairs. Vanessa muttered something inaudible and ran up the steps. Ashley sighed and blew her bangs out of her face and followed the brunette.

Once in the gym, she was too busy to worry about Vanessa and Zac so she threw herself into her work, hoping to learn the dance well. About halfway through the rehearsal, she heard a cry of surprise and turned in time to watch Vanessa fall to the ground.

Ashley rushed over but by the time she reached the fallen girl, Lucas was already there helping her up. "The floors get the better of you, Ness?" He asked.

"Apparently so!" She replied flirtatiously, twirling her hair between her fingers. He chuckled and Chucky called for attention. Ashley moved back, closer to the two so she could hear any conversation between them.

After they finished another round of the main dance, Vanessa groaned. "I can't get this right! Ugh!" She cried.

"Hey, relax! Just keep practicing; I'm sure you'll get it!" Lucas said supportively, squeezing her shoulder.

"Thanks, Lucas."

"No prob!" He replied. They continued for the rest of the day, briefly breaking for lunch. Zac joined them in the afternoon and they finished up the day with more dancing.

Zac was about to walk over and ask Vanessa if she wanted to watch a movie with him that night but before he could say anything she rushed over to Lucas and playfully ruffled his hair. "Lucas, will you help me with the main part of the dance, please?" She asked, pouting slightly and tilting her head.

"Well I-" He started but she tilted her head the other way and batted her eyes. "Oh how can I say 'no' to that face?!" He cried. "Sure, I guess!"

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" She squealed and threw her arms around his neck. Zac turned towards Ashley and raised his eyebrow at her. She shrugged and walked out of the room with him.

"What's going on between Vanessa and Lucas?" Zac asked as soon as they were in the car. "I have no idea!" She replied, feeling upset for some unknown reason.

"Hmm…So do _you_ want to come over and watch a movie tonight?"

"Oh, um…sure!" She replied, smiling slightly.

"Well alright then, I'll see you tonight!"

"Yep!" Ashley said brightly then ran to her room, pushing past Monique and turning on the shower.

It wasn't until she turned off the water that she realized she had tears streaming down her face.

45 minutes later she had put on lounge pants and a fuzzy sweater and now she was waiting for a certain Mr. Efron to answer the door. He flung the door open and smiled warmly at her. She forced a smile back at him and brushed past him into the room.

They curled up on the couch with nachos and debated over movies. Finally, they decided on "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

"Mmm…look at that beautiful man…" Ashley muttered, her eyes trained on Brad Pitt.

"I'll pass thanks, I prefer Angelina." He replied. She rolled her eyes and rested her head on his shins. He subconsciously stroked her hair and she lulled to sleep.

What seemed like minutes later, someone was shaking her awake. "Ashley, hey Ash! Wake up!" Someone whispered in her ear. She cracked an eye open and looked into Zac's ocean blue eyes. She groaned and stretched before going limp on the couch again.

Zac smirked and pulled her to her feet then half walked, half carried her across the hall. He knocked softly on the door and Vanessa opened it a crack. Her dark eyes widened in surprise and she grudgingly stepped back to let them in.

He helped Ashley into bed and whispered goodnight then came back out into the main room.

"Hey Nessa!" He said quietly.

"Hello." She said coolly. "Have a nice date?" she asked.

"Date? What? Oh, no! We're just friends."

"Oh I see…" She said disbelievingly.

"Hey, I was going to ask you to come over but you were too busy throwing yourself at Lucas!" He whispered furiously.

"Oh, _I'm_ throwing myself at someone?! What about you and Ashley?! This morning?! God, Zac, you are unbelievable!" She cried, then whirled on her heel and slammed her bedroom door.

Zac sighed and returned to his room, confused about pretty much everything.

**Hello all! Don't worry; I'm almost positive I'll add more soon! Unless the stupid science fair drowns me! Ugh! Well anyway, thank you so much for your support! I love you guys, whenever I get reviews, it makes my day! So keep them coming! Oh and this is definitely a Luley story! It's not a Zashley or a Lucnessa! This is just for flavor! Thanks for the suggestion BeautifulBabe! Well that's all I really have to say so until I write more…**


	13. Chapter 13

Vanessa could not sleep. She had been tossing and turning for over an hour and she could not get to sleep. Finally she gave up, threw back the covers and padded out of the suite.

Not knowing where to go, she crossed over to the boy's room and knocked lightly on the door. No answer. She knocked again, a bit harder. She heard a grunt and a sigh and the door swung open, revealing a bleary eyed Lucas.

"Nessa…What's wrong?!" He asked, his eyes roaming over her looking for injuries or signs of illness.

"Oh, um, well I couldn't sleep and I, um, didn't know what to do, so…" "So you decided to wake me up?" He finished for her.

"Sorta, I guess." She muttered sheepishly. "Well okay then…Is there anything you need or that I can do?" He inquired, still confused about why Vanessa was standing on his door step in the dead of night.

"Well not really…It's just I'm in a fight with Zac and I don't know what to do because I thought Zac liked me but then he started flirting with Ashley and I thought that she knew that I sort of liked him but apparently she didn't because she began flirting back and now I'm confused because I don't know who likes who!" She blurted out hurriedly.

Lucas narrowed his eyes, deep in thought then stepped back and grabbed his coat. "Let's go for a walk." He stated simply then took her arm and led her down the steps.

Once they were outside in the crisp midnight air, Lucas turned toward her and took a deep breath. "Okay, now start from the beginning and go slowly because I have no idea what you just told me."

She giggled then began to go through the previous days events leading up to Zac carrying Ashley to her room and their argument.

"I just don't get it! I mean he acts all 'nicey nice' to me with the flirting and the smiling but then turns and does the same thing to Ashley! Is there something wrong with me?! Is it the whole older woman thing or what?! I'm so confused, Lucas!" She cried dramatically, tears in her eyes. Lucas sighed and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before enveloping her in his arms.

She began sobbing, not really knowing why. All she knew was it was extremely nice to let out her emotions and break down. _Plus, the company isn't all that bad…_ She thought to herself wickedly

Lucas whispered words of comfort into her hair, hoping to ease her pain. Fatigue overtook him and he sank to the ground with her in his arms, repositioning her so that her head was resting just below his jaw line.

Vanessa continued to cry for a solid half hour until finally she took a deep breath and pushed away from him slightly.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to him. "Eh, no problem! Oh and um, about your issue: I highly doubt that Ashley was purposely flirting back with Zac to spite you. She probably didn't even notice because that's how most people are. And, well, Zac's kind of a player so bear with him for now. Someday he'll learn."

Vanessa felt slightly better so he helped her up and they walked back into the warmth of the hotel. He walked her to the door and leaned against the frame while she dug out her key.

"Well, goodnight, Nessa." Lucas said, pushing off the wall.

"Lucas?" She breathed. He swung back around and she jumped up, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly on the lips. "Goodnight, Lucas." She whispered then turned and let herself into the suite.

Lucas touched his fingers softly to his lips before walking back into his own room.

_What did I do…?_ Were the shared thoughts on both actors' minds as they slipped beneath the covers.

"Vanessa Anne Hudgens, get your butt up right now! I'm not kidding, missy!" Monique yelled through the door before crossing to the other closed door. "Ashley Tisdale, same for you! Get up! Now!" Then, sighing, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Vanessa was the first to stumble from her room, clad in a tank top and Capri's with her hair thrown sloppily into a bun. "Good morning, princess! Have a nice sleep?" Monique called to the brunette, who was crashing around the kitchen.

Moments later, she emerged with a steaming mug and a scowl on her face. "No, I didn't sleep at all last night because Zac and I had a fight! Then I went over to the boy's room and woke Lucas up and he and I talked for a little while. Then I kissed him and went to bed but I still couldn't sleep!" She wailed.

Monique surveyed her, and then began laughing. "Oh my God, girl, you had me going for a second there!" Vanessa set her mouth into a thin line.

"Oh my God, you're serious?!" Monique squealed. "I didn't even know you liked him that way!"

"I don't!" she cried, throwing her head into her hands. "It was a spontaneous thing and I wasn't thinking!"

"Well, are you going to tell anyone about it?"

"What's there to tell?! I just kissed him, sort of! It wasn't even like a real kiss!" Monique arched her brow but the conversation ended when Ashley walked out in shorts and a sweat shirt.

"Ready yet, muffin?" Monique asked, tossing shoes to Vanessa and Ashley. She grunted and walked out the door. Vanessa rolled her eyes and stomped out behind her leaving Monique to follow the others.

Lucas, Zac and Corbin were already cued in front of the elevator when the girls walked up and after exchanging a few small 'good mornings' they maintained a thick silence.

Lucas caught Vanessa's eye and stared at her for a few moments before Vanessa blushed and looked away. Ashley stood with Zac and they had a murmured conversation together.

After an eternity, they arrived at the studio and split into their respective groups. Ashley and Lucas worked together all morning, working more on 'What I've Been Looking For' but Lucas would not look into Ashley's eyes. Ashley, feeling hurt and confused, did not speak to him for the duration of the rehearsal.

Meanwhile, Monique snagged Corbin as he was walking back from the bathroom on his way to the gym. "We need to talk!" She said then dragged him into a closet.

"Is there something you're trying to tell me, Mo?" He asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows comically. She rolled her eyes and smacked him on the shoulder.

Monique quickly told him what was going on between the others and when she was finished, Corbin whistled. "Well, well, well…Let the games begin!" "You are so corny!" she cried then they both rushed off to lunch.

After lunch, everyone was doing some quick stretching before they began to rehearse again. Corbin turned towards Lucas and struck up a conversation.

Right as a lull in the talking started, Corbin blurted out for everyone to here: "So, Lucas, I didn't realize you and Vanessa were together!"

Silence ascended.

Ashley shot the two a hateful glare then ran out of the room. Vanessa and Lucas looked at each other then stared at the floor.

Zac trained his eyes on Vanessa, obviously feeling pain.

Monique scoffed at Corbin then ran after Ashley.

"Awkward…" Chucky said after a few minutes.

**Aloha!! Ooo…such drama…I love it! 100 reviews!! Woooh!!! I've never gone over like 60 or so before so this is big!! Well, what do you think? My cousins suggested I show some darker sides of people so I did! Don't worry the drama won't be as um, dramatic during the whole story! So review please and keep reading!! Peace out!**


	14. Chapter 14

Monique ran down the hall and went through a random door. "Ash?!" She called, her voice echoing back up to her. "Ashley?" She yelled again.

She heard sniffling and followed the sound down the stairs to a small landing. Ashley was curled up in a small ball with tears streaming down her face. "Ashley?" Monique whispered crossing over to the blonde and sitting down next to her.

Suddenly, a door opened then slammed and Vanessa appeared, breathing hard. "Ashley, listen, I can explain!" She began, crouching down in front of the two.

"Lucas and I, we're not-" "You know what? You don't need to explain anything! I understand! This whole time, you and Lucas have been secretly falling in love while stringing me and Zac along! It's alright because you know what?! I don't care! You and Lucas can go off and be together, whatever!" Ashley screeched, leaping up and running down the stairs then locked herself in a bathroom stall.

Vanessa turned towards Monique. "What do I do?" she asked helplessly. "You and Lucas need to talk before you talk to the other two. Start with that, and then try to get through to Ashley. Maybe together, you guys can talk to Zac."

Vanessa nodded, slightly daunted by the task of facing Lucas. They stood in silence for a few minutes until finally Monique shoved Vanessa lightly on the shoulder. "Go on, 'no day but today!'"

Vanessa sighed and ran up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Lucas rounded on Corbin. "We're not together! Not even close! Where'd you hear that?!"

Corbin, realizing his mistake, clapped a hand over his eyes. "Oh! I _wasn't_ supposed to say anything! Oh, shoot! I heard it from Monique, who heard it from Vanessa who apparently locked lips with _you_ last night!"

Chucky, Zac, Ryne (Jason) and some other dancers looked from Corbin to Lucas.

"No! We didn't "lock lips," _she_ kissed _me_ after confessing everything about what happened between her and Zac last night!" The boys turned from the arguing pair to Zac.

"Well…um…" He stammered, blushing a deep crimson, "It wasn't that big a deal, I mean she just accused me of, well…throwing myself at Ashley…" He mumbled, running his hand through his hair.

"Dude, you were!" Corbin said, rolling his eyes. "Well I wasn't trying to, I was just trying to get to know her and be friendly because she's Vanessa's friend!"

"Well, she didn't take it like that. She thought you were "into" Ashley and that Ashley was "into" you and now everything's messed up!" Lucas cried, rubbing his temples in frustration. The three boys began arguing with each other, their voices reverberating around the gym.

"Ahem!" Someone called and they all broke off turning towards the voice. Vanessa was standing amongst the sweat basket ball boys, rubbing her arms awkwardly.

"Nessa-" Zac began but she ignored him. "Lucas, can we talk?" Everyone paused while Lucas stepped forward and they walked out of the room.

After the pair left, everyone began arguing again.

Lucas and Vanessa went up the steps and stepped out onto the balcony that was located outside of one of the studio rooms. Lucas bit his lip and looked out across the buildings across from the ledge while Vanessa shuffled her feet and sank to the ground.

"Nessa…" He murmured after a few moments but she cut him off, "No! Lucas, I should talk first then you can swear or yell or say whatever but let me explain myself!"

Lucas nodded and she took a deep breath, "Last night, I was really off. I was so upset about Zac and I'm not even mad at Ashley! I realize now that she wasn't trying to hurt me, she was just humoring Zac. I'm mad at Zac because he is such an idiot but I'm madder at myself for using you to forget about my problems. I shouldn't have woken you up because it wasn't your fault and I shouldn't have ranted to you for so long. And I really should not have kissed you! I'm really sorry, I should have known better! I just wasn't thinking and I know that's not an excuse but I don't know what else to tell you! I really hope we can all still be friends and get over this. Do you forgive me?" she ranted, pleading with her eyes.

He chewed on his lips for a few minutes then turned towards her. "I'm not saying what you did was right, because it definitely wasn't. But I understand and I do not think of you as anything more than a friend. If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm your guy but I think you should leave the romantic comforting to Zac. He's probably better at kissing than I am and he probably would get more of a thrill from it." He joked, nudging her slightly with his shoulder.

She giggled and feigned hurt. "You mean you didn't like the kiss?!" "Well I've experienced steamier but that wasn't half bad…"

She rolled her eyes and thumped him on his back and he staggered around the balcony pretending to be mortally wounded. The two walked back inside and went back downstairs.

"Well there's one hurdle down…now what do I do about Ashley?"

**Haha gotta love family fun! I already have most of the next chapter lined up and after I finish this drama I think I might start the filming but I also want to have some 'Bop to the Top' in it! Any suggestions for improvement/any ideas for the story? I love to read your reviews/ideas so send them in and don't be shy! Well I'm going to focus on my Bond Marathon now so TTFN, Ta Ta For Now!**


	15. Chapter 15

"_Well there's one hurdle down…now what do I do about Ashley?"_

Vanessa left Lucas in the dance room and ran down to the bathroom where Ashley was crying. Monique was leaning against the wall, listening to Ashley muttering.

"She won't come out, I've already gone inside and tried to pull her out of the stall but she kicked me! Vanessa, you need to talk to her!" Monique cried, exasperated.

Vanessa sighed, "I'll try…" She slowly pushed open the door and slid inside. One of the stall doors was closed and sporadic hiccups and gasps were heard from inside.

"Ash…it's me." Vanessa murmured, half-hoping Ashley wouldn't hear her.

The noises stopped. "Go away, Vanessa, I don't want to speak to you! Not now, not ever!" Ashley said icily.

Vanessa stepped back as if Ashley had slapped her. "Ashley, we're not dating! I swear!"

"Right, whatever, of course you're not!" Ashley cried sarcastically, blowing her nose.

"But-" "Get out!" Ashley screamed. Tears rolled down Vanessa's cheeks and she ran out of the room.

Finally it was Friday and Ashley still was not speaking to Lucas or Vanessa. The girls all turned in early after an awkward meal during which neither Ashley nor Vanessa ate.

After a few hours of fitful sleep, Vanessa decided to eat something so she rolled out of bed and padded into the kitchen. She hissed when her feet met the cold tile floor then tiptoed to the fridge.

Suddenly, her legs connected with something or someone and she fell as another squeal reached her ears. Vanessa groaned and threw on the light switch, flooding the kitchen with light.

Ashley had been leaning against the fridge eating Lucky Charms out of a plastic bowl. "Oh great…" Ashley muttered, ignoring Vanessa and beginning to gather the scattered sugar bites.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Vanessa whispered, kneeling down and helping her pick up the cereal.

After the mess was cleaned up, the girls sat looking at each other for several long moments until finally Ashley sighed. "Nessa, I hate fighting with you. I really do. And…I'm sorry for overreacting the other day…" She said quietly.

"No, no! You had every right to be mad at me but hear you me: Lucas and I are _not_ dating! I just got caught up by his nicerosity and kissed him on the lips, barely! It was more of a lip-brush if you ask me but whatever and I'm really sorry for doing it and-"

"Nessa! It's okay! I understand!" And suddenly the girls were hugging and laughing and crying.

"So tell me, is he a good kisser?" Ashley asked, getting up and heating water for hot chocolate.

"I told you! It was barely anything! But it was kind of nice…" She said, giggling a little.

"I feel so stupid! I mean I feel like such a drama queen!"

"Well, it was good practice for being Sharpay!" Vanessa consoled.

"True…God! How am I going to make this up to Lucas?! Words can't even make up for being a total bitch to him! What do I do?!" She asked desperately, sipping her cocoa and closing her eyes.

"Do what I did…" Vanessa replied. Ashley opened her eyes and looked questioningly at the younger girl. "Wake him up!"

"hmmm…What about text messaging or calling his cell phone?" "That could work!" Vanessa said, nodding in agreement. Ashley ran to her room and grabbed her phone then rushed back to her stool in the kitchen.

After several rings Lucas picked up. _"Hello?"_ "Lucas, it's Ashley…" _"Hey, what's up?"_ Lucas yawned into the phone.

"I'm really sorry that I woke you up and ignored you and accused you and was mean and obnoxious and over-reacty and stupid and I don't know how else to say it but I'm sorry and you don't need to forgive me because I don't deserve I because I've been acting like a two year old and, and…" She broke off, realizing she was ranting.

Lucas was silent for a long time until Ashley thought he had hung up on her. "Apology…accepted…" Lucas said, breathing deeply and closing his eyes again. "Now, goodnight Ashley!" He said then hung up and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

"yay!!" Ashley cheered, putting her phone down. "I am so tired!" Vanessa said.

The two decided to go to bed and then they could talk more in the morning after a good night's sleep.

On Monday morning, they were entering the second week of rehearsal. Filming was set to begin the following Monday and everyone was well rested and ready to work.

Kenny gave out assignments and per usual, Lucas and Ashley were sent to a smaller room to work on their dances.

"Okay, we've finished 'What I've Been Looking For,' now we should start your other song: 'Bop to the Top!'" Chucky said excitedly.

"Now, for this dance, Bonnie and I think it should be sort of like a tango but sped up and much more modern." Chucky and Bonnie did they're rendition of the dance then had Lucas and Ashley stand up and move to the music so they could get a feel for it.

Lucas swung Ashley into his arms and began to spin around with her until they collapsed form dizziness. "So, you guys ready to dance?" Bonnie asked after they all had finished laughing and the room had stopped spinning.

"Yeah…" They muttered, still laughing. After an hour and a half they had choreographed up to the line: _'Zig, Zap Zop, pop like a mop! Etc…'_ And both were extremely tired.

"Great you guys! Let's keep moving!" Chucky encouraged. Kenny walked in and sat down in a corner to observe their rehearsal. "Okay what should we do for _Scoot around the corner_? He asked, looking at the pair.

Ashley shrugged but Lucas stood up and spun in a circle, shaking his hips. Ashley and Bonnie swooned and Chucky applauded. "Well, there we go! Now Ashley, to your feet! Let's go!" He posed them together and after much wincing from crushed feet, Chucky sent them to lunch.

Along the way, Kenny draped his arms around Lucas and Ashley and led them down the stairs.

"So you guys, the dancing looks great! It's really coming along well, isn't it? I think today, we'll give you a slight break and instead of sending you to rehearsal for the finale, you guys can go get fitted for your costumes! Doesn't that sound nice?" He asked the two.

"Yes, yes, yes!!!" Ashley squealed, jumping up and down. Lucas merely groaned but still smiled at the thought of a fun-filled afternoon with Ashley.

"Sure…" He replied. "Great! After lunch go up to the main room and they'll take it from there! See you guys later!" Kenny smiled at them then rushed off in the opposite direction.

After they ate, Ashley ran up the stairs to the room with Lucas following a bit behind her. "Come on! We're going to be late!" She called excitedly.

"Ashley, they can't really start without us!" He replied patiently, panting slightly then opening the door for her.

"Thank you! Well I know that but I still want to be sparkelified! Goodness!" She said indignantly then opened the main room door.

"Hello, you must be Lucas and Ashley! I'm Maureen, the sparkle and clothing expert!"

**Hey!! Teehee, sparkle expert! Now, mind you I don't know if they did costumes the day they did the shooting or if it was beforehand but I'm going to make it primarily beforehand! At least for a few of the outfits! I may just have them be measured and pick out some of their favorite colors and such but I'm not sure yet. I know, they're not together yet! Am I totally killing you? If so then I'm really sorry! Well, this was a fun chapter, don't you think? I think I'm going to start filming in the next few chapters so stay tuned and keep reviewing! Oh and check out XxIcePrincessxX's profile for a pic of the tango scene!!!! Until I get inspired again…**


	16. Chapter 16

"_Hello, you must be Lucas and Ashley! I'm Maureen, the sparkle and clothing expert!" _

"Hi Maureen! I'm Ashley and he's Lucas!" Ashley said excitedly, grabbing the woman's outstretched hand and pumped it up and down. "Hey there!" She said, laughing at the girl's eccentric ness.

Lucas shook her hand as well and greeted her. "So, let's get to work!" She said, leading them into a large room. It was full of fabric swatches, sewing machines, tape measurers and mannequins.

"Okay, it's measure time!" She said, pulling out one of the tape measurers and helping Ashley onto a chair. As she was doing this, the two main wardrobe people, Adrienne and Leo, walked in and greeted the young stars. Leo measured Lucas as well and soon the trio was bustling around, piling clothing into the actors' arms.

"Now, let's start with the lady!" Maureen said, pushing her into the dressing room. Ashley's first few outfits were skirt and tank top combinations. Each time she modeled her costumes; they would flock around her and tug at the clothing.

"More sparkles!" "Take off an inch or two." "No, that's backwards!" Finally she tried on an electric blue dress with a feather bottom. It was a bit heavy but she still managed to put it on. She stepped outside and there was an audible gasp.

She cringed and went to turn back inside but then Adrienne, Leo and Maureen began to applaud. She opened her eyes and looked around. "It's amazing!" They all said, flocking to her again.

"Except it makes you look like you have chicken legs!" Lucas said, smirking at her. She lunged at him, tripped over the discarded clothing from previous fittings and knocked him over.

"Ash, you really need some walking lessons!" Lucas groaned, splayed on the floor with Ashley lying on his stomach. "Serves you right!" She said indignantly, pulling herself up so they could adjust the dress.

"Okay, now that that's settled, Lucas, you're on!" Maureen said, shoving Lucas into the cubicle. While he was changing, she fiddled some more with Ashley's dress.

"Definitely sparkles down the front. In rows. And we need to lower it a little so she can dance. Work on it while we look at Lucas." Maureen said, examining Ashley.

Lucas stepped out, wearing black dress pants and a white sweater. "Perfect…" Leo muttered. "You just need the proper accessories…" He said, disappearing amongst the clothing racks for a few moments and returning with a large box.

He rummaged through it and produced two hats, one black and one white and brown. He tossed the white and brown one to Lucas and Lucas placed it on his head.

"Heeere's Ryan!" Adrienne cried happily. They spent the rest of the day being sparkelified and glitterified by the crew and after several hours, were released.

Lucas and Ashley rushed back to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening watching movies with the cast.

Finally, the dress rehearsals began. They were to begin filming on Monday and they started dress rehearsals on Wednesday. 'Bop to the Top' was rehearsed along with 'Breaking Free,' and 'We're All in This Together' on Friday.

Ashley put her dress on and walked onto the stage for their number. "Ugh this is too heavy!" She cried to Lucas, pouting. "Oh muffin." He said "sympathetically," patting her arm.

She rolled her eyes at him and trudged up the stage stairs. "From the top!" Kenny yelled from his position in the audience. The music began to play and Chucky pushed Lucas lightly as he "burst" onto the stage.

"_Mucho gusto!"_ _"Aye que fabulosa!" _ Ashley replied saucily. They did their dance and afterwards, Ashley slid down the ladder and collapsed on the floor.

"Ash! You okay?" Lucas asked, jumping down and kneeling next to her. "It's too heavy!" She moaned, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll be fine! You just need to wear it for one scene then you can strip into comfy pants and one of my sweatshirts! What did you do with my blue one, by the way?" He asked suddenly.

She giggled awkwardly and hastily changed the subject. "You're right, this isn't that heavy!" She said quickly and stood up. He chuckled. "Works every time!" He said, standing up and jumping off the stage.

Kenny applauded then stood up. "One more time with more cockiness and we can move on!" He said. Ashley groaned and slumped back up the steps.

"_We'll keep stepping up and we just won't stop…stop…till we reach the top! Bop to the top!"_ They sang, out of breath as they climbed the ladder.

"Wonderful!" Kenny said. "Zac, Vanessa, your turn!" He yelled. Ashley and Lucas sat down with Kenny while Zac and Vanessa walked onto the stage and sang their song.

"_We're running!" "Climbing!" "To get to that place, to be all that we can be! Now's the time, so we we're breaking free!"_ They "sang", skipping around the stage. "They really do have chemistry, don't they…" Kenny whispered.

Ashley and Lucas nodded. "We should hook them up!" Ashley squealed in Lucas' ear. He gave her a look that screamed "No way!"

But she ignored it. "One way or another, they're getting together!" She vowed to him quietly.

**Hello everyone!!! Cassie, I used your idea!! So, juicy at the end, huh? This is so much fun! Thank you for the support and reviews, please keep them coming!!! I'll keep the story coming as well after I think of some ideas…Hopefully soon! So do you like, love or hate it? I have to ask!! Filming next chapter! Woo! Any ideas? I do like to use them! Thanks, you all rock! Bye!**


	17. Chapter 17

On Monday morning, Ashley rose before 6 AM to begin Operation: Get the Two Idiotic Blind People Who Are Made for Each Other to Finally Get Together Even Though They Won't Admit Their Undying Love for One Another.

When Ashley had proposed the idea to Lucas then begged him for over an hour, he reluctantly told her he would agree only to make sure she didn't do something completely crazy and jeopardize her or someone else's life.

She decided to be organized and draw out her plan using elaborate diagrams and a grid. In reality, it was covered in stick figures and arrows but she figured it would only be her looking at it so it wasn't that important.

She finished running through the plan then got dressed, brushed her teeth and woke the other two up. "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!" She yelled in the small hallway the held their rooms.

Monique swung her door open, fully dressed and wide awake. "Well this is a nice change." She said approvingly, smiling at Ashley and pushing past her to the kitchen.

Ashley sashayed to Vanessa's door and began to drum on it. "Vanessa, Vanessa, Vanessa!" She called annoyingly. Finally, Vanessa pulled the door open; looking disheveled and gave the blonde a death glare. She groaned dramatically at her and dragged her feet to the bathroom.

Finally, everyone arrived on set. Everyone was nervous but very excited as they walked past the camera crew. Their first scene was the first day back in homeroom so there were dozens of extras milling around and chatting. The main six were quickly whisked to hair/makeup and wardrobe then brought back to the room.

Kenny gave them all a brief run through then sat them down in seats then rearranged them then did it again and again. "Quiet on set! And action!" He yelled. The camera swung around to show Troy, Ryan, Sharpay, Chad, Jason, and Taylor sitting and talking. It also showed the extras talking as well.

Zac was improvising some lines during one of his close ups and he said everything from: "Dude, all I remember was like Christmas music and cupid doing the la cucaracha." To "All I remember is like…pink jelly…" Needless to say, he had most of the set stifling their laughter.

After they had filmed the homeroom completely, Kenny sent Vanessa inside. She stumbled and looked around for "Ms. Darbus" then handed Alyson (Darbus) the empty file.

As Vanessa was walking down the aisle to her back row seat, she tripped over Lucas' backpack and screamed but thankfully, Corbin caught her. "Hey Nessa, have a nice trip?" He asked, being extremely corny.

She rolled her eyes and thanked him then went back into the hall. "Action!" Kenny yelled again and Vanessa walked inside, handed the file to Alyson again then sat down in her seat.

Vanessa zoned out looking at the back of Zac's head while they were dialoguing amongst each other. Her cell phone began to "ring" and she paused before diving into her bag and pulling it out. It showed a funny looking picture of Zac and she looked "shocked" until Alyson walked over and took her phone from her.

After they all had received attention, one of the effects guys rang a bell and they all walked out the door. Ashley and Vanessa tried to walk out at the same time but the mixture of them, their bags and the door frame caused them to get stuck which then caused them to squeal.

Lucas and Zac rolled their eyes while Corbin rushed up. "I'll help!" He yelled and shoved them both in the smalls of their backs. The girls collapsed to the ground in pain and the boys all helped them up.

"Way to go, Corbin!" Lucas said, brushing some dust off of Ashley's shoulder. "Thanks Lucas." She said breathlessly, looking at him and feeling her face flush. He smiled at her and released her arms

. After he turned around, Vanessa have her a look that said "And what was that?" Ashley shrugged while inside she was reeling. _What did that mean? What is wrong with me? Am I covered in dust?! _Her mind screamed at her. She looked down and gasped then continued to brush herself off.

During their lunch break, Ashley quickly showed Lucas her scribbles of a plan for: Operation: Get the Two Idiotic Blind People Who Are Made for Each Other to Finally Get Together Even Though They Won't Admit Their Undying Love for One Another.

"Don't you think we should shorten the title?" "Why? That's a perfectly fine title!" "How about: Operation: Zanessa?" He suggested wryly.

"Oh, fine but I still think we should use Operation: Get the Two Idiotic Blind People-" "Ashley, we don't have time! But yes, we can still have that just say Zanessa from now on!" He said, dragging her the rest of the way to the table that their group was sitting at.

"Hey guys, what took you so long?" Monique asked as they pulled up chairs and began to eat. "Got lost." Lucas lied, giving Ashley a meaningful glance. She nodded and quickly added on. "Yeah, I forgot which way the lunch room was so I flipped a coin and we went the other way!" She said bubbling a bit for effect.

Everyone seemed to believe her and the subject was dropped. As they were all standing up to return to the set, Ashley discretely stepped on the back of Vanessa's shoe so the brunette skidded to the ground. Zac kneeled down by her side and lifted her up so she was sitting in a chair.

Tears were welling up in her eyes while Zac examined all of the scrapes that covered her hands and legs. Some of them looked pretty gory so she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away.

Zac sighed and turned towards the group of worried friends. "Could you guys get me a first aid kit, please?" He asked and Corbin quickly ran off to find one. "It's not nearly as bad as it looks, don't worry!" Zac reassured her, brushing some hair off of her face.

After several minutes, Corbin ran back with the kit in hand. "Guys, I couldn't find it, so I grabbed a box, wrote first aid on it then ran around the infirmary and stuffed random stuff into it!" He told them, thrusting the box at Zac.

The group rolled their eyes at Corbin and Zac quickly opened up the "kit" and dug through it for some antiseptic cream and bandages. He put some of the cream on and Vanessa hissed at the cold then he quickly and carefully wrapped the bandages around her.

"There now. All better!" He told her, grabbing her hands and kissing each of her palms. She looked at him surprised and he blushed. Lucas and Ashley smirked at each other while Monique looked between the two blondes. _What on Earth are they up to? _She thought.

Zac stood up and cracked his aching knees then helped Vanessa up. "Um, we should probably get back. Filming, you know?" He said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Okay!" Vanessa agreed, keen on escaping the awkwardness.

Ashley and Lucas high fived each other and then ran to catch up to the group.

**Hey you guys!! I'm beginning to get Zac/Vanessa together! What do you think? Any ideas? Oh and don't think that I'm going to focus just on them, this is totally Luley and who knows what will happen during Operation: Zanessa?! What should I do about Corbin and Monique? Personally I like Corbin/Olesya (Kelsi) but I'm not sure! Any suggestions for improvement? Keep reviewing! Thank you!! Bye!!!**


	18. Chapter 18

The rest of the afternoon was spent working on the rest of the homeroom scene and the scene at the sign up sheet. Unfortunately for Zac and the rest of the crew, Ashley and Vanessa could not get their lines out because whenever they looked at one another they began to laugh.

It took over 15 takes for them to get the 5 minute scene shot and afterwards everyone was exhausted so Kenny dismissed them.

The group happily returned to the hotel and made their way to their rooms. "Hey guys, let's go swimming!" Corbin suggested, thinking longingly of the large indoor/outdoor pool.

"Great idea, Corbin!" Olesya replied.

"Let's meet in front of the…um…changing rooms in 15 minutes!" Monique told them as the elevator dinged and they departed.

"Who needs 15 minutes to change into a bathing suit?!" Zac cried at them. The girls looked at him like he had 8 heads. "Well, we need to get changed, put on sunscreen, take off our makeup, pack our poolside bags, find suitable cover ups, get out our SPF lip gloss and put it on then go down there so sue us!" Ashley spoke for all of the girls.

"Fine princesses, we'll see you down in an hour!" Lucas said dramatically. The girls scoffed and went to their rooms. After they did all of the above, the girls were yet again in the elevator.

"So, Nessa, was that little old you making kissy face at a certain Mr. Efron today?" Ashley asked casually.

"No! Of course not!" Vanessa tried to ward off their questioning but they were relentless.

"Then what was it?" Monique pressed. "We're just-" "Friends! We know!" Olesya, Ashley and Monique finished for her, exasperated.

Thankfully for Vanessa, they finally reached the pool area and saw the boys leaning against the wall. "I timed you, it was more than 15 minutes!" Lucas accused them, holding up Corbin's arm which bore several watches.

"Well we didn't include time for chattering and shoe hunting!" Ashley stated, hip checking him lightly.

"Well sor-ry!" Lucas replied, shoving her back with his hips. They began to bash their hips against one another until they both went flying in different directions.

"Oh grow up!" Monique told them. As they were doing this, Corbin, Olesya, Vanessa and Zac went over next to the pool and claimed some chairs.

Nessa and Zac lay down and began to speak quietly while Corbin stripped off his shirt and rolled his shoulders. "You coming, Rulin?" He asked the smaller girl. She looked at him tentatively then pulled off her over-sized tee shirt revealing a light blue bikini with palm trees on it.

"Let me get settled!" she told him, swatting away his pleading. He pouted at her then rolled his eyes, wrapped his arms around her waist and threw her in the pool.

After several moments, she surfaced. "Corbin Bleu!" she shrieked at him, furious. "Olesya Rulin!" He yelled back then cannon balled into the pool. He came up under her so that she was sitting on his shoulders. She shrieked again and clung for dear life.

"Put me down!" She ordered. He considered for a few moments then shook his head. "Nah that would be too easy!" He said then fell backwards so they both sunk under water again.

While Corbin and Olesya's water war raged on and Monique lectured Lucas and Ashley about how childish she thought they were, Zac and Vanessa were holding a whispered conversation.

"Hey you." He said to her, rolling onto his stomach and turning his head towards her. "Hey yourself." She replied, lying on her back.

"About today I didn't mean to be so, um, audacious or anything." He said quickly.

"Don't worry about it. I know we're just friends and it's cool!" She replied, internally regretful. "Right, just friends." Zac said, sighing inwardly.

"So how's living the life of a movie star?" He asked her, taking one of her curly locks and twisting it through his fingers. "Fantastic." She replied, yawning.

"Hey Zac?" "Hmm?" "Do you think Lucas and Ashley like each other?" "Uh, yeah!" Zac replied.

"We should do something…" "Like what?" "I dunno, get them together?" She suggested.

"How?" He asked, perking up and leaning on his elbows.

"Let me sleep on it." Nessa then fluttered her eyes closed and soon dozed off. "Okay…" Zac whispered, taking her hand and kissing it again.

Lucas and Ashley finally were released by Monique. They saw Olesya and Corbin floating on inner tubes, linked at the ankles so they could speak with one another. Zac and Vanessa were dozing in the shade and Monique was getting a tray of sodas for everyone.

"What do you want to do?" Lucas asked Ashley. "Volleyball!" Ashley shouted, spotting a small area with sand and a net.

She grabbed his hand and dragged him to it. "Oh God, Ash…" He groaned. She giggled and snatched the ball.

"Okay…" She said then attempted to serve the ball. It sailed for about two feet then flopped to the ground. "Just kidding!" She called to Lucas then picked up the ball again and served it again.

This time it barely flew over the net and Lucas set it back. They continued back and forth about 4 times before they both dove to the middle and entangled themselves in the net.

"Blue, 42, hut hut, serve!" Ashley yelled then whacked the ball. Lucas rolled his eyes and as he hit it yelled, "Fore!" She giggled and spiked it at him.

He was about to lunge for it when she leapt forward and grabbed him around the middle, bringing him to the ground. He landed on the ground with a thump and groaned but Ashley was perfectly comfortable due to her cushioning.

"Why is it that whenever I'm with you, I somehow always end up on the ground with you on top of me?" He asked, still trying to regain his wind. "Good fortune and luck?" Ashley guessed.

"Apparently!" he replied then began to tickle her. She shrieked and began to laugh and shake uncontrollably. "Stop. Stop!" she gasped out, trying to grab his hands.

"Give me a reason!" He said over her giggles.

"Um! Because you love me and don't want me to pee my pants from laughing so hard!" He gave her a bemused look then gave up his tickle attack. They both lay on the sand, chests heaving and smiling.

"I won; I won, ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Lucas sang teasingly at her. Ashley stuck her tongue out at him and poked him in the stomach.

He chuckled then rolled on top of her so he "squished" her. She pretended to be compressed then stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes.

"Roar!" Lucas yelled, wrapping his arms around her and continuing to roll with her entwined with him.

They parted and continued to laugh and talk for a long time until Corbin rudely interrupted them and told them they were going to clean up and go to dinner.

"Fun's over…" Lucas jokingly whispered in Ashley's ear and she grinned back at him.

**Aloha! Happy Holidays everyone! I hope to post again before Christmas but with the crazy schedule, I may not! I'll most likely post this week! I'm going to the hsm concert next Saturday! Yay!! Okay, so how was this chapter? I went with Corbin/Olesya if you couldn't tell! Am I moving too fast? Too slow? Let me know! (Haha rhymes!) Please keep reviewing! It's so exciting to get them, they make my day, and I have 155!! Which is amazing! Thank you! Keep being awesome!**


	19. Chapter 19

A few days later, Zac and the rest of the basketball crew began to film 'Get'cha Head in the Game.' Vanessa, Ashley and Lucas were filming a scene in a classroom as this was going on.

"So, it seemed like you knew Troy Bolton." Ashley, 'Sharpay', said suddenly, causing 'Gabriella' to jump. "Not really, he was just showing me around…" Vanessa mumbled.

"Well, Troy doesn't usually interact with _ah, ah, achoo!_" Ashley replied. "Cut!" Ryan called, then handed Ashley a Kleenex.

"You know, for some reason, I don't think Troy likes to interact with sneezes." He told her seriously, and then began to laugh.

George walked over and patted Ashley on the back. "Way to go, Ash! Let's set up the camera and take it from the top, please!" He grabbed his camera and repositioned it. Ryan looked around then cleared his throat. "Quiet on set, and action!" He whispered.

"So, it seemed like you knew Troy Bolton." Ashley said again. "Not really, he was just showing me around." Vanessa replied, shrugging.

"Well, Troy doesn't usually interact with new students." "Really, why not?" Vanessa asked distractedly, looking at the board and pretending to understand the problem. "Well, its pretty much basketball 24/7 for him." She smirked.

"That should be pi over 16…" Vanessa said quietly. Just as the "teacher" was turning around, Ryan yelled cut. "That was fantastic…but its 16 over pi not pi over 16." He told Vanessa.

"Oh…I knew that!" She said indignantly but smiling. "Yeah, sure Ness." George said. "Take it from, uh, 'basket ball 24/7' please!" He said.

"Quiet on set, action!" Ryan whispered again. "Well, its pretty much basket ball 24/7 for him." Ashley said again. "That should be 16 over pi…" Vanessa corrected.

"Excuse me, Ms. Montez?" "Oh I'm sorry, it's just…shouldn't the second equation read: 16 over pi?" Vanessa asked. '_What's pi again? It's a decimal of some sort…but why's it called pi? Was the guy really hungry when he invented it? Who invented it anyway?'_ She thought to herself as the actress corrected the problem.

Vanessa smiled and fixed her notebook then Ashley rolled her eyes and began to tap her fingernails.

"That was great you guys! Let's go do the 'Einsteinette' scene next!" George said, ushering them all out of the room and thanking the extras. "Ashley are you allergic to math?" Lucas asked as they were setting up in the hall.

"Oh, hahahaha, you're hilarious!" Ashley said sarcastically. He laughed some more then waited for everyone to be ready. "Since a certain Mr. Efron is otherwise occupied, we're going to take it from after he walks off. So Lucas, you're going to be other by that statue." Ryan told them.

Lucas nodded and went over by it. He stared at it for a few minutes then shuddered. "Who in their right mind would put this in a school? There are children here!" He called to Ashley.

"I guess they thought it was a good symbol of, um, school stuff?" Ashley guessed.

"It's creeping me out!" He said, pretending to shiver.

"Okay guys, settle down!" George said, laughing. "Action!" Ryan called to them moments later. Lucas paused for two seconds then began to walk forward. Ashley strode down the hall. Lucas grabbed her arm so he could pull her over. She squealed and overbalanced. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"It's the heels!"

"Yeah, okay."

"Let's try that again. Lucas, this time don't pull so hard and Ashley, think balancing thoughts." George instructed.

They started and restarted the scene three times before they got it right. They all cheered when the scene was completed then they moved to a small room that they turned into a computer room.

Ashley typed up the website created by their prop masters then "gasped." "Wow, an Einsteinette. So why do you think she's interested in our musical?"

"I'm not sure that she is and we need'nt concern ourselves with amateurs. But there is no harm in making certain that Gabriella is welcome to school activities that are…well…appropriate for her, after all, she loves pi." Ashley replied.

As she was hitting the 'print' button, Lucas' leg fell of the chair and he fell to his knees. "HA!" Ashley cried. "Now whose the klutz?!" She taunted.

"The difference, dear, is that I had a reason to fall. I wasn't merely overbalanced by the oh so daunting task of _walking_." Lucas replied. "Oh, honey bear…" She said, mocking sympathy.

They then walked down to the gym to meet with Corbin and Zac. As they were walking out, another young man walked out.

Vanessa squealed. "Hey Drew!" She cried, rushing over to him and hugging him. "Hey Ness!" He said, laughing.

"What are you doing here?" "Well, they were doing my song and I wanted to watch the magic happen!" He replied then looked around at everyone.

"Oh! You haven't really met the rest of the cast! This is Lucas Grabeel and Ashley Tisdale. You know Zac and Corbin but you don't know Olesya or Mo! We should find them!" Vanessa rushed out.

"Hi Drew!" Ashley greeted, shaking his hand. Lucas did the same then they were dragged off by Ashley and Nessa.

Monique and Olesya were sitting outside enjoying the Utah sun. Corbin pressed a finger to his lips then tiptoed over to Olesya's chair. He snaked his hands around her and clapped a hand over her mouth. She gave a muffled scream and leapt to her feet.

Everyone was doubled over with laughter while Olesya attempted to beat up Corbin. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" He cried after several minutes of punching. She huffed at him and sat down again.

"Okay Corbin! Now that you've pissed her off, can we do introductions?" Ashley asked impatiently. Corbin nodded meekly. Vanessa grabbed Drew's arm and led him forward.

"Drew this is Olesya, Olesya this is Drew." She said, pointing to each of them.

"Nice to meet you." He said to her, shaking her hand and smiling. She grinned back. "Likewise."

"And Monique, this is Drew, Drew, this is Monique!" Ashley piped up. Monique stood up and Drew took her hand, raised it to his lips and kissed it softly. Monique gave a rather uncharacteristic giggle and blushed. He smiled sweetly at her.

"This is the night, such a beautiful night…" Corbin sang under his breath.

"Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings?" Lucas sang.

"Now I'm in a whole new world with you…" Zac sang.

Monique seemed to come out of her trance. "Oh hush you guys!" she ordered then brushed some hair off of her face. Drew and Monique began to talk and everyone else sat down.

"So Nessa, have you thought of a plan?" Zac whispered to her. "For what?"

"To get Lucas and Ashley together!" He whispered eagerly.

"Oh…right! Of course I have a plan!" She lied. Really, she had completely forgotten about it. "Well, what is it?" He asked impatiently.

"We're going to get them together by, um, setting them up!" She thought up quickly.

"How?"

"We could do something like inviting them out to dinner or something with us then not show up so they're alone!" She began to get excited.

"That's a pretty good idea…but how do we do it?"

"Let's be cliché! Okay so we'll invite them out with us then at the last minute I'll fake a fever or something and not be able to come out!"

"Okay but when and where?"

"We need to plan. I'll bring it up with Ashley later then we can really plan!"

"But be casual!"

"Are you implying that I am obvious?!" She asked, mock insulted.

"Of course not! You're just a little…excited?" He said, weakly.

"Gee thanks!" she said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I'm going to be _excited_ over there so I can think in peace!" then she stood up and sat down with Lucas and Monique.

**Yay! For once I actually updated when I said I would! Oh I am so tired so this is probably terrible but that's okay! So I went with a Drew/Monique and I think that will work…what do you guys think? Questions, comments, concerns? Oh and George and Ryan are like the camera operators and assistant camera director people so I didn't make them up. I think I got the lines right but please forgive me if I didn't! I can't wait for the concert this weekend; maybe it will give me good material for another chapter! Who knows! Well, I think I'll stop typing now…have a nice day! **


	20. Chapter 20

That night, Vanessa, Ashley and Monique were watching "School of Rock" and eating strawberry ice cream. Well, they were actually talking for most of it but "School of Rock" was on in the background.

"So, Mo, Drew's pretty hunky, huh?" Vanessa said knowingly. "Ness, who says "hunky" anymore?!" Ashley exclaimed.

"Apparently Vanessa Anne Hudgens!" Monique replied, trying to change the subject.

"Oh come on guys!" Vanessa whined. Ashley stifled her giggling and turned her attention back to Monique.

"Yeah, Monique, tell me about 'Mr. Hunkalicous!'" Monique groaned and threw her head back on a pillow.

"He's a really nice guy." She allowed reluctantly. "And…" Ashley prodded. "Okay he is gorgeous and totally sweet!" She burst out.

Vanessa and Ashley slapped hands and giggled. "Fine, now Nessa, what about Zac?" Monique shot at her.

"What about him?" Vanessa mumbled, examining her nails. "Don't think we don't see you blush whenever he walks in the room!" Ashley teased.

"Well, it's not my fault he's exceptionally good-looking!" Vanessa was exasperated. "And…" Ashley prodded again. "And he's a sweetheart…" She mumbled.

"HA!" Ashley cried victoriously.

"Okay Ash, it's our turn!" Monique cried.

"Yeah, how about Mr. Grabeel?" Vanessa wiggled her eyebrows. "Lucas is like my best friend!" Ashley defended herself.

"Best friend, boy friend, what's the diff?!" Monique added.

"Oh please…"

"Oh please yourself! You want to jump his bones!" Vanessa taunted.

"Who wouldn't?! Have you seen his hips or eyes?" Ashley sighed. "He is pretty wonderful, huh?"

"Mmmhmmm!" Monique agreed. "Ooo! I have an idea!!" Vanessa chimed suddenly. "How about tomorrow night, we all go out to eat! It'll be fun!" She suggested.

"Well, I'd love to but I think I have a, um, thing tomorrow…rain check?" Monique said disappointedly. "What are you doing?" Ashley called over her shoulder as she brought in chips and salsa.

"My mom's in town so she and I are going to hang out. I think she's coming on set too!" Monique explained excitedly. "Oh! I can't wait to meet Mama Mo!" Vanessa and Ashley cried at the same time.

"You girls freak me out sometimes…" Monique said, looking between them. They giggled. "We know!" They said in unison again.

"Ahhh! Stop!" Monique ordered. Instead of replying, they nodded. "So Ashley, what do you say? You, me, Lucas and Zac for tomorrow night?" Vanessa asked.

"Uh, sure…" Ashley replied, trying to hide her nerves. "Great! I'm going to go call the boys! Be right back!" Nessa giggled and skipped to her room.

Once she was safely in her room, she leaned against the door and sighed in relief. "That was easier than I thought…" she murmured, pulling out her phone and hitting 5.

"Papa Gino's pizza, how may I help you?" A male voice asked. Vanessa gasped. "Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I have the wrong number!" She squealed and hung up.

'_I never knew I had Papa Gino's on my speed dial…'_ She thought, scrolling through her contacts and pressing Zac. It rang again. "Papa Gino's pizza, how may I help you?" The voice asked again.

"What the heck?!" she screamed into the phone. She was about to apologize again when she heard a boy laughing. "ZACHARY DAVID ALEXANDER EFRON!" She screamed. More laughter was heard. "UGH!"

She screamed again then hung up, stormed into the kitchen, pulled out a glass bowl on chocolate pudding. "Ness, what are you-" Monique called, but Vanessa ignored her and continued out the door and knocked on the boys door.

The door swung open and the answerer greeted her. "Hey Nessa!" She smashed the bowl into his face, covering him in pudding.

Lucas staggered backwards. "Nice to see you too…" He mumbled, wiping his face with his hands.

Vanessa gasped and dropped the bowl, glass shattering everywhere. Vanessa and Lucas jumped to avoid the glass shards and Vanessa screamed.

"Oh my God, Lucas!" Vanessa cried, covering her mouth with her hands. "I am so sorry, I thought you were Zac!"

Lucas stepped back to let her in. "its okay, it's not everyday a pretty girl covers me in my favorite pudding." He said good-naturedly then grinned and wiped some of the gooey substance on Vanessa's face.

She shrieked and rubbed her face clean with his shirt. Zac strolled into the room and began to laugh hysterically at Lucas. "Hey, this was supposed to be for you, man!" Lucas lightly shoved Zac's shoulders as he walked to the shower.

"Zac, I am so mad at you!" Vanessa said angrily, pushing hair off her face and sitting down on the couch.

"So you took it out on Lucas?" He asked, sitting next to her.

"No! That was supposed to be you!" "Oh, haha I won!" Zac teased. She rolled her eyes. "Well I was calling to tell you that tomorrow night is a go!" Vanessa told him, forgetting about her anger.

"What?" Zac asked dumbly, scrunching up his eyebrows. Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Our 'double date!'" She reminded him.

"Oh yeah! But how are we going to do this?"

"Well, at the last minute, I'm going to come down with the cramps or something and not be able to go. So then Lucas and Ashley will be alone." Zac nodded. "And to ensure that our plan works, we are going to follow them and watch them from a distance! Like spies!" She squealed.

"that's actually a really good idea!" Zac said. "Well obviously! I thought of it! Now, I'm going to go back to my room and chill. We can discuss everything else tomorrow. Kay?" She asked, standing up.

"Yup!" Zac said, lying down on the couch and flipping on the TV. "Cool, see ya tomorrow!" Then she walked back to her suite.

Lucas stepped into the room, in a towel and pinkish from the shower. "What's up?" He asked.

"Tomorrow night you, me, Ashley and Nessa are going to go to dinner. Some 'get to know your co-stars' thing." Zac informed him, nonchalantly.

"Sweet." Lucas replied then went back to his room to get dressed.

"Oh, I'm good!" Zac said to himself, then did a mini-victory dance.

**WDCT **

The next day they continued filming and Zac and Vanessa started 'Start of Something New.' At the end of the day, Kenny congratulated them on 'great chemistry' and sent them on their way.

Vanessa and Ashley skipped to their suite and began to rush around, showering, doing hair and makeup and picking outfits. They had agreed to meet at 6:30 in front of 'T.G.I. Fridays.'

Ashley was fixing up her hair before she got dressed when she heard a moan coming from across the hall. She quickly finished clipping back the pieces in front of her bangs then skipped into Vanessa's room.

Nessa was lying on her back, gripping her stomach.

"Hey Hon, you okay?" Ashley asked, sitting on the end of the bed. "Ugh, I think I'm getting my period!" She moaned, grimacing for effect. Ashley hummed in sympathy.

"Do you want me to call the boys and cancel?"

"No! No! I'm fine!" Vanessa insisted, trying to sit up then falling back. "Okay, maybe I'm not so fine but you should go anyway!" Vanessa urged.

"Let me call the boys and see what they say." Ashley said uncertainly, pulling out her phone. "Hello?" Zac answered.

"Hey Zaccy, its Ash!" Ashley called.

"Hey! What's up?" He asked, picking through various shirts. "Listen, Nessa doesn't feel well. I think we should cancel, but she wants us to go anyway. What do you guys think?" She asked, glancing at the brunette.

She listened and nodded. "Cool, I'll tell her." She said then hung up. "Zac says he'll come by and take care of you. He wants me and Lucas to go anyway." She informed her.

Vanessa smiled weakly. "That's great, go finish getting dressed or you'll be late! I'm going to lie on the couch…" Vanessa mumbled, dragged herself off the bed and stumbling to the living room.

Ashley took a shaky breath and tried to clear her heard. _'He's your friend!'_ She inwardly screamed. _'You know you want him…_' Her sub-concious teased.

"Oh shut it!" she said irritably then went back to her room. Ten minutes later, she emerged into the living room wearing a baby blue dress-y sort of tank top and dark jeans with brown boots and a chunky necklace.

Vanessa cheered and made Ashley "strut down the runway."

"Work it, baby!" She cried hoarsely. Ashley grinned and blushed. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" Ashley asked, pulling on a light sweater and grabbing her bag.

"Yeah, Zac's taking care of me! What could go wrong?" She asked then chuckled. "Okay, that probably didn't help! Don't worry, I'll call you if something really bad happens. We'll probably watch movies all night anyway. Now go!" Vanessa ordered.

Ashley smiled. "Fine…" She swung open the door and came face to face with Zac.

"Hey! You look great!" He greeted, taking in her ensemble.

"Don't I always?!" She gasped. He chuckled at her and walked in. "I think I've got everything. Magazines, movies, ginger ale, saltines, etc…" Zac held up a bulky bag.

"Bye Ashley!" Vanessa gave Ashley a look that said 'get out of here, now!' Ashley giggled and waved then walked out of the room to the car that was waiting for her outside.

When she arrived, Lucas was casually leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Ashley paused for a minute, staring at him.

He was wearing dark jeans as well, with a pinstriped black and grey dress shirt un-tucked and a grey t-shirt underneath. He also had on a black hat titled on his head.

She checked her reflection in her compact mirror then took a deep breath and got out of the car. "Hey you." She called, walking over to him. He grinned at her, taking in her outfit.

"Jeez Ash, are you trying to kill me?" He asked, referring to her appearance.

"I'd settle for a heart attack." She replied sultrily then began to laugh.

He linked arms with her and they walked into the restaurant together.

**Wow, this is a long one! Omgsh! The concert was amazing! We were in the fifth row! OMG! It was wonderful! Sorry about not updating but things were pretty hectic this week! First the concert, then New Years, then two days of school then exams then a semi-formal last night! I may not update for awhile because I'm going to Florida for my birthday next week! Sorry! I'll try though! Oh and sorry for my bad describing-ness about their outfits! Think of like the flowy tank tops she usually wears! So what do you think? And how were your New Years? Thank you all so much for reviewing and reading and dealing with my isms! Please continue to rock! Oh and do you think my story is too long? Should I hurry up and finish? Let me know! XOXO**


	21. Chapter 21

Vanessa and Zac waited until they saw Ashley walked out of the building and get into the car before they slapped hands and began to jump around. "I can't believe she believed you!" Zac cried, laughing.

"Hey! I'm a good actress!" Vanessa pouted. He grinned at her, "Oh I know. But, it's funny that she was like 'whatever' about it." He replied.

"Yeah, I guess…Oh! I should get changed! We need to get going!" she realized, rushing towards her room.

"Oh yeah…" Zac had completely forgotten about the spying part. Vanessa pulled off her sweat pants and pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a black shirt with rhinestones. Then she pulled her hair back with a clip and slid on her comfy black boots.

"Ready?" She asked, skipping back into the living room. "Sure am…" He said distractedly, staring at her. "Focus, Efron! We have a long night ahead of us!" Vanessa ordered.

He blinked rapidly then followed her out the door and to the street.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Ashley had been seated at a high top table on the upper level near the window so they had a beautiful view of Utah lit up.

Ashley giggled and began to spin around on the stool until it stopped short and she nearly fell off. Lucas stifled his laughter and took a sip of water. She sat back up, shook her hair off her face and cleared her throat. "My bad."

The waiter came over and smiled at them. "Hello, I'm Andy, I'll be your server for this evening. May I start you off with some drinks?" He asked.

"Sure. Ash, what's your poison?" Lucas asked, glancing at her.

"Um, root beer, please." She replied to the waiter and Lucas.

"I'll take the same." He told the waiter, who nodded and walked off to get them their beverages. "Where are Vanessa and Zac again?" Lucas asked after a few moments of silence.

"Vanessa has the cramps so she staying in and Zac came over to watch her or something. Isn't that sweet? They so belong together!" Ashley squealed.

"Don't you think you should just let Fate take it's course?" Lucas asked her. She gave him a 'Are you kidding me?' look and he chuckled, "I guess not."

"So, what are you getting?" Ashley picked up her menu and began to flip through it. "Um, I was thinking of just getting a burger. You?" He asked, leafing through his menu as well.

"Um…I think I'll do a turkey and lettuce wrap." She decided, closing her menu and putting it down.

"Puritan." He teased.

"Simple minds." She replied, grinning.

Andy bounded back over and gave them their drinks. "So, are we all set to order or do you need a few more minutes?" He asked, pulling out a pad of paper.

"I think we're all set." Lucas replied, and Ashley nodded. "I'll have a burger, medium rare, hold the onions and mayo, please." Lucas handed Andy his menu.

"And you?" "Turkey and lettuce wrap, hold the mayo please." She handed him her menu as well and smiled.

"Alright, those we'll be out in a short while." Andy said, double checking his notes then going back to the kitchen.

"Well okay then…" Lucas clapped his hands together and looked at Ashley. "What now?"

Vanessa and Zac quickly snuck into the restaurant. "Excuse me, can we get a secluded table near the two blondes over there? Where we can see them but they can't see us?" Vanessa asked the bored looking worker.

She gave them a blank look. "I'll see what I can do…" she muttered and disappeared. "'Where we can see them but they can't see us?!" Zac exclaimed when she was gone.

"What else was I supposed to say?!"

"You could have been more subtle. Said a secluded table or something!"

"Yeah but we can't be seen!"

Their argument was cut off when the girl came back. "Right this way…" She led them through the restaurant and up the steps to a table a few behind Ashley and Lucas.

Zac pulled a plant over so it blocked their table. "Now what?" He asked.

"We observe. We make sure they realize their meant for each other! Duh!" Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Uh, how?"

"I haven't decided yet. Ooo! I'm going to text her!" Vanessa pulled out her phone but Zac stopped her.

"Don't! It's rude to text on a date!" It was his turn to roll his eyes. Vanessa sighed and stuffed the phone back in her purse. "Fine!"

Andy came over and smiled at them. "Hello, I'm Andy and I'll be your waiter for this evening! May I start you off with drinks?" He asked.

"Sure!" Zac replied right before Nessa kicked him. "What?" He hissed.

"I guess I'll have a chocolate milkshake then." Vanessa relented. She hadn't intended to order anything but realized they couldn't sit in a restaurant and not order without looking suspicious.

"I'll have the same please." Zac told him. "What'd you kick me for?" He asked when Andy left.

"Well, I didn't think we were going to order but I changed my mind." Vanessa shrugged.

Zac sighed and rolled his eyes, '_It's going to be a long night…'_ He thought.

Ashley and Lucas were in a serious debate.

"I'm sorry but I don't see the difference between body wash and soap!" Lucas told her.

"There's a huge difference! Body wash is way easer to use and it smells better!"

"Soap is easy to use!"

"No it isn't! It flies out of my hand like, uh, soap!"

Lucas stared at her for a few moments then shook his head "That was intelligent."

She smiled and bounced a little, "I know!" She replied.

"And soap smells good if you get the right kind."

"Apparently the kind my mom buys doesn't! I'm telling you Lucas, if you use body wash a whole new world will open up to you!" She advised.

"Wow, I never new 'Epiphany' came in a bottle." Ashley was about to respond but their food came and she held her tongue.

"Clearly you are being stubborn."

"Clearly you are resilient." He replied, lifting up his burger.

"No catsup?" She asked, giving the red bottle a disgusted look.

"No, I hate that stuff." He replied.

"Really?! Me too!" She squealed.

Lucas began to fan himself, "Sister!" He squealed back.

Some of the people around them began to stare so they stopped squealing and stifled their laughter.

Vanessa cooed as she watched the two lovebirds. "Oh, they are so cute!" She whispered, looking at Zac then stealing one of his French fries.

"Hey!" He protested but she had already popped the hot fry into her mouth.

"Get your own fries!"

"Why would I do that when you have your own?" She asked innocently. He chose not to respond and looked back over at the blondes.

"They really do look nice together, don't they?"

"Obviously. Why else would I have come up with this ingenious plan?!"

He grinned at her. "Do we have to watch them the whole night?" He complained.

"No, we have to leave before they leave so we can beat them to the hotel!"

"Oh okay."

"We'll leave when they get dessert." Zac groaned and leaned back in his chair.

Lucas and Ashley finished eating their meal and decided to split a fudge brownie sundae.

"Brain freeze!" Ashley cried after a few minutes.

"Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth and think 'hot.'" Lucas instructed easily, scooping up more brownie.

Ashley sat and fanned herself for a few minutes until she could think straight then began to giggle. "'Think hot?'"

Lucas began to laugh as well. "It was the first thing that came to mind!" He defended.

"Oh okay!" She said, covering her mouth to muffle her laughter. When she wasn't looking, he swiped some of her brownie but she really was looking and gasped at him.

"That's mine!" She shrieked.

He smiled coyly at her and continued to eat the brownie. Ashley pursed her lips and glared at him. "Something bothering you, cupcake?" He asked.

"Besides you?" She shot back.

Lucas chuckled then scooped up some of his ice cream, "Open your mouth" He ordered. She shook her head.

"Please?" She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth slightly and Lucas, holding his hand under the spoon, fed her some of his ice cream.

She giggled and he smiled at her, "Feel better?"

"Maybe…" He rolled his eyes and fed her once more.

"Okay, I'm good now! Thank you."

"Mmmhmmm, anytime."

Vanessa forced Zac to stay until she saw that their brownie war had ended then they quickly paid and snuck out of the building.

Once on the streets, Vanessa spun around and laughed out loud.

"Am I good or am I good?" She yelled.

"That went well, I'm surprised." Zac told her, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the street before she got hit by a bus.

"Why is it that you insult me so?" She asked, still laughing.

"You just set yourself up for it!" He replied, linking arms with her. They began to attempt to trip one another by trying to walk with linked legs. After several failed tries, they finally got it down and slowly and shakily arrived at the hotel.

They raced up the stairs and stumbled to the girl's suite. Vanessa rushed to her room, threw off her clothes and pulled on her sweat pants and a tank top.

Zac was sitting on the couch and had turned on the TV.

Vanessa pulled on one of Zac's sweatshirts and sat down on the couch, throwing her legs across Zac's lap. He crinkled his nose at her feet and pushed them off but she kicked them back up.

After a long war, Zac gave up and Vanessa grinned at him smugly.

They turned on the movie "Finding Nemo" and settled in to watch it and wait for Ashley and Lucas' return.

Lucas insisted on paying then instead of driving, they walked back to the hotel. Ashley wanted to stare at the sky so she could see the stars so she walked with her head titled back.

Lucas, growing tired of pulling her away from streetlights, cars and people, put his arm around her and pulled her against him so she wouldn't wander away.

She giggled into his ear, "you're warm!" She whispered.

"Thank you, I think." Lucas whispered back.

When they arrived at the hotel, they took the elevator and Ashley rested against Lucas. He walked her to her door and leaned against the doorframe.

"I had a great time tonight, Ash." He murmured, playing with her hair.

She turned towards him and rested on the other door frame.

"Me too. Thank you for paying, Luc."

"No problem, we should do it again sometime."

She smiled at him. "I should probably go in and check on Nesquick. See you in the morning, Lucas." She said after a few minutes, pulling herself off the wall, standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek then going into her suite.

He grinned to himself. "G'Night Ashley." He turned around and went back to his room.

Ashley giggled and skipped into the main room.

"Hey Ash!" Vanessa cried, smiling at her.

"How was dinner?"

"Great! How was your night? Do you feel better?"

"It was interesting, to say the least, and yeah, I feel much better." Vanessa replied vaguely, grinning and high fiving Zac discreetly when Ashley wasn't looking.

"Victory!" He mouthed at her and she clapped her hands silently.

"Well, I'm going to turn in. G'Night you guys."

"Nighty night, Ash!" They responded.

"We rock!" Vanessa whispered when she heard the door click. "Totally." Zac replied, happy to have met Vanessa and the rest of the cast.

**The ending was cheesy but I didn't know what to do! I'm leaving tomorrow (Thursday) and won't be back till Monday so I probably won't update for awhile. Sorry!  Okay, did you like their date? Wasn't it funny?! Let me know when you think and thanks for all the feedback! I'm amazed! I almost have 200 reviews! Wow! Thank you so much! Keep reading and send me any questions, suggestions or comments! Peace out.  **


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning, Ashley was still walking on Cloud 9 so she woke up in a great mood. Vanessa, though not quite as elated as Ashley, woke up cheerful as well and they happily chatted while they brushed their teeth and hair.

Together they walked into the main suite and found a beautiful, curvy woman sitting at the counter, sipping orange juice and reading the paper. Monique came out from the kitchen and grinned at the girls.

"Hey guys! I'd like you to meet my mom, Adele! Mom, this is Ashley and Vanessa!" Monique said excitedly.

"Hi Mrs. Uh Monique's Mom…" Vanessa greeted uncertainly.

Adele gave a hearty laugh and held out her hand, "You may call me Adele if you so choose. You're Vanessa? And you're Ashley?" She asked, shaking each girls hand and pointing to them.

"Yup, I play Sharpay Evans in the film. I'm the villainess."

"And I play Gabriella Montez, I play Taylor's best friend." "Oh okay, that makes sense. Would you girls like some breakfast?" Adele asked, moving into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator.

Although the girls were not hungry, Adele insisted on making the French Toast and fruit bowls along with juice and water. After they were finished eating, Ashley sighed in content. "Wow, you should visit more often, Adele, that was excellent."

"Yeah, thank you for feeding us." Vanessa chimed in.

Adele smiled warmly, "Anytime girls."

Monique glanced at the clock and gasped. "You guys! We're going to be late!" The girls all rushed around, gathering their bags and sweat shirts. "Okay ladies, let's move it!" Adele yelled, opening the door and ushering them all out.

"I think we missed the van!" Ashley moaned.

"Van-shman, get in my car!" Adele called to them. They all piled into her car and she whizzed them to the studio. They all thanked her and jumped out then ran inside.

Kenny and the boys were sitting in the lobby, talking and waiting.

"Uh, hey Kenny…" The girls greeted.

"Nice to see you, sleep well?" He asked good-naturedly.

"Sorry." They all mumbled sheepishly.

"Quite alright, today we are going to do the audition scene so Lucas and Ashley should warm up and stretch then go to hair and makeup and then wardrobe. Vanessa and Zac are going to be doing their auditions as well so you guys should get to hair and wardrobe as well. Monique and Corbin, will you guys help me with the sets and filming for the first half of the day since we're not doing your scenes right now?" He asked, while the other four walked down the hall.

"Yeah, no problem!" Corbin replied, slinging an arm around Monique's shoulders.

"Yeah, oh and you can meet my mom!" Monique cried as her mother walked inside. "Mom, this is the director, Kenny Ortega. Kenny, this is my mom, Adele."

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Coleman."

"Oh please, call me Adele. And it's a pleasure to meet you as well."

"Oh and this is Corbin."

"Hello, uh, Adele."

"Hello Corbin, aren't you a handsome, young man!" Monique groaned, "Mom!"

"What?"

"Stop!"

"Stop what?"

"Stop playing cupid or whatever!"

"Sorry honey, I didn't notice." Monique rolled her eyes. "Come on mom, I'll show you around." Monique grabbed Adele's arm and dragging her away.

Corbin stifled his laughter and followed them as well. "Okay, so this is a hallway. And this is the main studio." She said, pausing in front of one of the doors.

Her breath caught when she spotted Drew inside talking with Chucky and a few of the dancers.

"Well, let's go say hello!" Adele lightly shoved Monique and she reluctantly opened the door

Chucky and Drew turned around and spotted Monique. "Hey Mo!" Chucky greeted, coming over and giving her a high-five.

"Hey Chucky. This is my mom, Adele! Mom, this is one of the choreographers, Chucky." They shook hands and then Adele spotted Drew.

"And who is this?" She asked, holding out her hand to Drew, who took it, bowed deeply, and kissed it. "I'm Drew Seeley, I wrote one of the songs in the movie and I sing a few of them. You must be Monique's mom."

Adele giggled, "Yes, you may call me Adele." Adele turned around and grinned at Monique, who inwardly groaned and tried not to blush.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Ashley were stretching and talking. "Monique's mom is such a sweetheart!" Ashley gushed while she slid into a split.

"Haven't met her yet, but if since she's Monique's mother, I'd assume she'd be at least half as sweet as Mo."

"awww…" Ashley giggled. "Lucas, will you help me stretch my legs?"

"Sure." She lay down on her back and stretched her leg up then he pushed it back.

"Tell me when." Ashley nodded, "Keep going." He pushed until her leg was over her head.

"Okay stop!" She exclaimed. They held the pose for about 15 seconds then he pushed himself off of her and she put her leg down.

"Other leg?"

"Please." They repeated the process and afterwards, Ashley grinned at Lucas.

"What would I do without you?"

"You'd have crampy legs." Ashley rolled her eyes and shoved him. He grinned innocently then led her to the hair and makeup room.

Zac and Vanessa were getting done up by Adrienne and Leo.

Leo was curling Vanessa's hair while Adrienne was applying face powder to Zac's face.

"Vanessa, you really have lovely hair." Leo complimented.

"Aw, thank you!" Lucas and Ashley stumbled in and sat down in the spinning chairs.

"We'll be right with you." Adrienne told them after she had brushed out Zac's hair. "You're all set, hun."

"Thanks Adrienne." She smiled at him then moved onto Ashley. Leo finished applying mascara and lip gloss on Vanessa and grinned at her. "You are fabulous!"

Vanessa giggled and stood up then walked out with Zac. "See you guys later."

Leo began to brush Lucas' hair and ran his fingers through it to give it the messy look. Adrienne straightened Ashley's hair then pulled out a curling iron and began to curl it.

"Jeez Ash, how many hot tools can be used on your hair at once?" Lucas teased.

"Jeez Lucas, how many hats can you wear in one day?" She shot back, grinning at him.

They all began to laugh and Leo added some blush to Lucas' face to give him a bit of color. "I think you're all set."

"Thanks, man."

"Anytime, dude!" They high-fived and Lucas patiently waited for Ashley's make up to be finished.

"Thanks Adrienne, you're a peach." Ashley squealed then they ran to the vans to get to the school they were using.

Ashley and Lucas quickly got dressed and ran into the auditorium, where they were finishing the other audition scenes. After they were done, Alyson stood up and greeted them.

"Ready for some fun?" she asked. They chuckled and talked casually with her and Olesya until Kenny and the crew walked in. Monique, Adele, Corbin and Chucky followed.

"Okay, so we're going to have the song playing and you will lip-sync for simplicity. We're going to try to get through the whole song at once then we'll re-shoot as needed. Okay?" He asked, while the crew set up.

Adele sat in the audience while Corbin and Monique grabbed the markers. Lucas and Ashley jumped up onto the stage and they began to do mini-dances to loosen up.

"All set?" Kenny asked them from the audience.

"Yes." They replied in unison and Kenny nodded towards Corbin and Monique.

"A-Mark."

"B-Mark."

"Action!" Kenny yelled. The music began to play and Lucas and Ashley snapped together then took the mics from the extras.

They ran through it without a problem once but when they began to re-shoot, Ashley kept laughing.

At one point, Lucas went to do his one-handed cart-wheel but forgot to switch his mic, so he slammed into the piano.

"Oh my God!" Ashley screamed and rushed to his side.

Lucas sat up and massages his shoulder. "I'm alright."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Lucas replied, getting up and cracking his neck.

Ashley and Olesya stared in disbelief. "He's like superman, he's invincible!" Ashley whispered to her.

"Seriously. Do you think he feels pain?"

"We should find out!"

"Girls! Can we please restart?" Kenny called. They leapt apart and Ashley skidded back to Lucas' side.

After over an hour and a half, Kenny called, "That's a wrap!" and they all broke for lunch.

The cast met up on one of the large balconies to eat. Drew met them as well and sat next to Monique.

Adele glanced at Vanessa and Ashley and they all stifled their giggles. "So, Drew, do you have a girlfriend?" Adele asked casually, causing both Monique and Drew to choke.

"Mother!" Monique hissed.

Drew, however, chuckled, "No, I'm single. But I think I'm a little old for you, Adele."

Everyone burst out laughing. "Oh my! What a charmer!" Adele exclaimed. "You know, MoMo's single…"

"Mom!"

"Nothing to be ashamed of, hun!" Monique covered her face in embarrassment.

"So did you and Ashley have a good time last night, Luc?" Vanessa asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, we had a great time. Too bad you couldn't come though." Vanessa turned slightly red, "Yeah, it was a shame but I still had fun with Zac."

"Hopefully you guys can come next time and we can continue our debate."

"Yeah, I prefer body wash better too!" Vanessa said without thinking. Ashley, Lucas and Zac stared at her.

"How did you know about our debate?" Ashley asked, stealing some of Lucas' chips.

"Oh! Um, you told me about it! Remember?" Vanessa said quickly, inwardly slapping herself.

"Uh no…"

"Yeah! Last night!"

"Okay Nesquick, whatever you say…" Ashley replied, still confused, but shaking it off.

Lunch ended, to Nessa and Monique's relief and they all rushed back to the main studio.

Drew stopped Monique as she was walking down the steps and Vanessa and Ashley lingered behind to hear what he said.

"Hey Mo, I know your mom's in town and all but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight?" He asked, leaning against the wall easily.

"Oh um, well I was going to stay in tonight and watch movies with my mom…"

"That's cool, there's always-"

"Hey Drew! Why don't you come over tonight?" Ashley quickly chimed in, rushing up to them. Monique's eyes widened but Vanessa stepped on her foot.

"Uh, sure. What time do you want me to stop by?"

"Oh how about 6:30ish, so we can get started on the movies!" Vanessa suggested.

"Cool, what room are you?" They told him their room and he grinned.

"See you tonight then" He said, then hopped down the steps.

Vanessa and Ashley began to squeal and jump around. "Come on, Mo! Celebrate!"

"I can't believe you did that!"

"You know you're excited!"

"Oh fine!" And she began to jump with then as well.

"Oh! We need to get back to work!" Nessa realized and they all ran down the stairs to the boys to continue working.

**Woo! Sorry about the whole not updating thing! I'd continue along this chapter but I need to do science fair work so I guess you'll need to wait until the next chapter! I'm really excited because people keep PMing me with ideas and suggestions and questions! I love to read reviews and private messages so feel free to send me feedback! By the way, I couldn't find Monique's mom's name so I made up Adele. Sorry about that. And I'll try to update really soon! Thank you for making my day! XOXO.**


	23. Chapter 23

Zac and Gabriella shot "What I've Been Looking For, Reprise" in a surprisingly short amount of time so they spent the last hour or so of studio time learning how to use camera equipment and how to get proper angles and such.

"Alright everyone, let's call it a day! So tomorrow we will do Status Quo and the scenes on either side of it so rest up tonight because I hear it's going to be a scorcher tomorrow!" Kenny dismissed them then turned and walked towards his car.

The group all looked towards each other and shrugged. It was about five o'clock so they all were lingering on stage. Drew, Lucas, Corbin and Zac were sitting on the edge of the stage casually talking.

"Dude, how's your arm?" Zac asked Lucas, referring to his slip earlier.

Lucas shrugged it off, "It was nothing, really."

"Just showing off for the ladies?" Corbin asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No, Corbin, I was showing off for you!" Lucas laughed, shoving Corbin's shoulder.

Drew rolled his eyes at them, "Come on, we all know you have a thing for Mizz Tizz!"

Lucas blushed slightly, "Do not. _You're_ the one with the flame for 'MoMo'."

"…Maybe…" Drew replied, looking at the floor. "But Zac is hopelessly devoted to V!" He defended.

"I'm Corbin, I like Olesya." Corbin said randomly.

They all stared at him then began to chat again. Meanwhile, the girls were gathering their belongings and gabbing nonchalantly.

"Guys, can we go now?" Ashley yelled, interrupting the boy's laughter. They all slowly ambled up the aisle to them and trailed behind the girls.

This time, a driver welcomed the girls but they road back with Monique's mom while the boys rode back in the van.

In the suite, Adele settled the daily shower argument by setting a rotation schedule for them. While Ashley showered, Vanessa, Adele and Monique sat at the kitchen table and discussed books, movies and cute actors.

"I prefer Eric Bana." Vanessa confided.

"Oh! He has an accent!"

"And that body!"

"Girls…" Adele warned amusedly, glancing up from her palm pilot.

"We can't help that he's delicious!" They defended. Ashley walked out wearing loose lounge pants and a tank top and running a brush through her hair.

Monique pushed back from the table to take her shower and Ashley took her vacated seat.

"What are we talking about?" Ashley asked, wincing as she hit a snarl.

"Eric Bana." Vanessa clued her in. "Ooh! He's a hottie! Ouch! God, I hate my hair!" Ashley moaned, ripping the brush out of her hair.

Adele shook her head and sighed then placed down her palm pilot. "Come over here and let me handle it." She ordered, beckoning Ashley over.

Ashley kneeled down in front of Adele and Adele picked up the brush.

"Well here's your first problem! Never use a brush on wet hair! Vanessa, be a dear and go get my comb out of my bag, please!" Vanessa scurried off and returned several moments later with a brush, a comb, detangler, elastics, another brush and a head band.

Adele chuckled as she dumped all of the stuff onto the table. "I asked for a comb, not a beauty parlor!" She chided.

"I was reading between the lines!" Vanessa slumped back into her chair and threw her legs over the arms.

Adele picked up the detangler and the comb and began to gently work the tangles out of her hair. Then she divided it into two sections and began to French braid it.

"Well aren't I getting the star treatment!" Ashley giggled. Adele and Vanessa laughed and Monique came back out.

"Are we playing dress up?" She asked, taking in the sight in front of her.

"Yeah, take a seat, I'll be with you in a moment." Vanessa rushed off to the shower ("There better be hot water") and Monique stole Vanessa's chair.

After Ashley was done, she walked over to the mirror and admired Adele's work. "Wow, are you a professional?" She breathed.

"No, I just know my way around hair."

"Oh! Okay!" Ashley sat back down and rested her chin on her knees.

"Come on, Mo! You're turn!"

"You're not going to braid my hair are you?" Monique asked cautiously.

"Of course not! You have a date! I'm going to do some major clip work here!" Monique sat down in front of her mother and Adele began to brush through Monique's hair.

"Ash, get me my spray mousse please. Oh and some clips." Ashley returned a few moments later and Adele thanked her then went back to work on Monique's hair.

The finishing product was Monique's hair had individual sections twisted back and all of the twists were being held in a sparkly clip. She had pieces hanging out in front which Adele spun around her fingers to give curl to then sprayed her head with hairspray.

Vanessa walked out with a towel wrapped around her head. "Wow Mo! You're gorgeous!" She exclaimed, running over to take a good look. "I love it!"

Monique smiled modestly. "Thanks Mom" She hugged her mother then sat down in a chair.

"Well Vanessa, it's your turn!" Adele pulled Nessa down and unwrapped the towel. "Wow! We've got a lot of hair to work with here!" It took awhile, but she finally managed to brush it all out so it was smooth then she sat and stared at it for a few moments.

Finally, she put it into two normal braids and put a pretty head band in it. "Thanks Adele!" She hugged the older woman then pulled over another chair and sat down.

"What time is it?" Monique asked, looking at the clock. "6:15" Adele replied, getting up and brining all of the hair supplies back to her room.

The girls began to make nachos, pop corn, root beer floats then Adele made fruit bowls while she forced the girls to clean up the living area and pick out movies.

It was 6:30 and they all were huddled on the couch under blankets with mugs of frothy root beer floats clasped in their hands. A knock at the door was heard but the three women did not want to move so Adele got up and answered it.

It was the pizza man.

About 10 minutes later, another knock was heard.

This time it was Drew. He was wearing loose jeans and a navy sweatshirt.

"Well come on in, young man!" He greeted her then walked into the room where the girls were all sitting and talking quietly.

"Hey ladies, thanks for inviting me." "Thanks for coming!" Monique replied, sitting up and knocking Ashley's legs out of her lap. "Uh, we should make room…" she said, looking at the tangle of limbs on the couch.

Monique rolled Ashley and Vanessa off the couch and onto the floor so Drew could sit down. Ashley sighed dramatically and curled up in one of the oversized arm chairs while Vanessa perched on a pile of pillows.

"So what movie are we starting with?" Drew asked after a few moments of silence. "Uh…" Monique mumbled.

"ICE AGE!" Ashley and Vanessa shouted.

"OKAY!" Drew shouted back at them. This sent them into a peal of giggles and Vanessa rolled herself across the floor and popped the DVD in.

From there, everything was simple. Ashley and Vanessa kept a running commentary throughout all of the movies while Drew and Monique had their own private conversation and Adele sat in the kitchen and worked.

Several movies later, it was almost midnight. Ashley was sleeping in her chair, Vanessa was dozing against the couch and Adele had gone to bed after sharing words of wisdom with Monique (Don't be too loud, the walls are thin).

Drew and Monique were still chatting quietly about their life views until Monique finally noticed that the movie had long since ended and they were the only ones awake.

Drew glanced at his watch and raised his eyebrows."It's getting late." "yeah…How am I going to get them to bed?" She groaned, looking at the sleeping beauties.

Drew grinned. "Not a problem!" He replied, getting to his feet, stretching and lifting up Vanessa as if she weighed nothing.

Monique led him down to V's room and Monique turned down her bed. Drew carefully laid her down and Monique pulled the covers up over her shoulders then they went back out and Drew picked up Ashley. Again, they tucked her in then stood in the dark hallway, staring at each other.

"I feel like a parent!" Monique giggled nervously.

"Me too, actually." He replied. They began to laugh and slid down the wall together. "I should probably go back to my hotel." He said several minutes later, not sounding like he wanted to leave.

"Probably." Monique said in the same manner. They stood up and she walked him to the door.

"Well…good night Drew." Monique told him. "Good night, Mo." He replied, a bit of disappointment in his voice.

Right after she closed the door, she bit her lip, glanced at the doorknob then sighed and pulled the door open.

"Drew?!" She called her voice a bit raspy from whispering. He had been halfway down the hall but swung around to face her.

"Um…" She fidgeted with her hands and he walked back towards her and leaned against the wall. Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward and pinned him against the wall then clasped her mouth onto his.

He raised his eyebrows and hesitated before accepting the kiss and pulling her closer. They continued to make out for several minutes until someone on a different floor slammed a door and they broke apart.

Both were breathing heavily and Monique giggled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." And with a final kiss, Drew walked away with a bounce in his step.

Monique turned slowly and meandered to her room, a dazed look on her face. Right before she fell asleep, she touched her fingers to her swollen lips and sighed.

"Drew Seeley…" She whispered, the name tasting different on her tongue now. Then she rolled over and fell into an easy slumber.

**Teehee! Fluff! I can't wait for the next chapter! I have it all planned out but I'm watching Titanic, it's almost eleven o'clock and I have to work on my science fair project tomorrow sigh But anyway, wasn't that cute? I really had nothing planned for it but now I'm excited because I have the next chapter planned! Yay me! claps So what'd you think? PM me with ideas or suggestions and keep reviewing! I love reviews and I love your feedback so feel free! Well I'm tired and it's my favorite part so, goodnight (or good morning?)!!! 3**


	24. Chapter 24

The next morning, Monique was still floating on air and as soon as the other two rose she told them everything that had happened. The three girls began to scream and jump in circles until the manager knocked on the door and requested that they pipe down because not everyone had had there speed yet.

Adele rolled her eyes at all of them and congratulated her daughter then ushered them out to the vans.

Drew, who had to fly home that day, was at the studio and he and Monique leaned against a wall and whispered quietly to each other. Meanwhile, Lucas, Ashley, Corbin, Olesya, Chris (Zeke), Vanessa and Zac stood in a cluster and talked quietly.

Monique had tears in her eyes and Drew pulled her closer. All the girls "awed." Finally, with a last hug and kiss, Drew surfaced to reality, bringing Monique with him. He said quick goodbyes to the rest of the cast then got in his car and drove to the airport.

Monique watched him go with a heavy heart but couldn't dwell on it because they all were forced into hair, makeup and wardrobe. Then they were driven to their filming location only to find that the AC was not working properly. The crew was in the process of fixing it but in the meantime, they had set up numerous fans and had opened all of the windows to air the cafeteria out.

Everyone warmed up together and Kenny huddled them all together to pep them up. "So you guys, we've got this down! We all probably can do it in our sleep, so let's go out there, regardless of the temperature, and do it! Wildcats!"

"Get'cha head in the game!" They all yelled back at him then began to rush to their spots.

After several re-starts, they all finally got into the groove. Vanessa, Monique and Zac sat outside and listened to them filming while everyone else worked for hours.

When the filming finally got to Ryan and Sharpay's part, Ashley and Lucas were exhausted but eager to do their part. "This is not what I want. This is not what I planned. And I just got to say, I do not understand! Something is really-" "Something's not right!" Lucas jumped in.

Ashley threw her hand back to shush him but instead of catching her wrist and bringing her hand back down, she hit him in the face. But she didn't notice this and continued to sing.

"Really wrong! And we gotta get things back where they belong!" Lucas sputtered as his nose began to bleed and Ashley turned around and gasped.

Kenny signaled for them to continue even though blood was pouring down Lucas' face so Ashley turned back around and they continued to sing, "We can do it!" (Gotta play) "We can do it!" (Hip hop hurray) "We can do it!" (Crème Brule) Ashley and Lucas walked down the steps and when they reached the bottom, Kenny called cut.

Ashley whirled around to Lucas, who was groaned and had a hand cupping his nose. "I am so sorry!" She cried. Lucas was about to respond, but he instead sneezed and sprayed her in blood.

She screamed and jumped backwards into Kenny, who rushed forward along with several other crew members. While Lucas was instructed to sit down and tilt his head back, Ashley was ushered to an impromptu dressing room to get cleaned up.

Adrienne sponged the blood off of Ashley and they brought her a new outfit then Adrienne quickly washed Ashley's hair and straightened it. By the time she was done, Lucas' nose was done playing fountain and everyone was milling around and drinking water.

Ashley hugged Lucas and he hugged her back. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean to hit me. Or did you?" He joked.

"No! No! Of course I didn't! I-"

"Ash, relax! I was kidding!" Ashley rolled her eyes. "That wasn't very nice!" He smiled at her and Vanessa walked in, interrupting their banter.

"Lucas, why is your face red?" She asked.

"Ashley tried to kill me." He stated simply. Ashley lunged at him and knocked some chairs over. He easily held her off and laughed, "Kidding again!" Ashley gave a frustrated sigh and adjusted her jacket.

"Yeah, Ashley accidentally hit me in the face and I got a bloody nose." He informed Vanessa.

"Oh are you alright?" She asked. Lucas assured her he was fine while Leo applied cover up to hide the stain from the blood to Lucas' face.

"Are we all set?" Kenny called into his megaphone, causing them all to jump. "Yes Kenny!" they replied and went back to position.

Again, Lucas and Ashley walked down the stairs (they had to re-shoot that twice because they were walking too fast) and it was Vanessa's big moment to "slip."

Instead of pretending to slip, she misjudged the distance between her and one of the dancers and got knocked over causing them to start again. After several takes, they finally got the stair walking and milk slipping right and all that was left was the infamous chili fries moment.

Kenny shot Vanessa slipping then he shot it flying through the air then he shot it landing on Ashley's collar bone. The first time it happened, Ashley screamed at the top of her lungs and jumped backwards into Lucas.

"It's freezing!" She screeched, wiping it off of her and shuddering.

"I'm sorry but it's the only way we can do it right." Kenny told her sympathetically. They restarted that part of the scene and this time, Ashley refrained from freaking out. Thankfully, she did get to scream and do her "drama queen" scene.

"Look at this!" She exclaimed to Alyson. "That Gabriella girl just dumped her lunch on me! On purpose! It was all part of her little plan to ruin our musical! And Troy and his basketball robots are obviously behind it!"

She was really getting into it and she turned towards Alyson and tried to look deeply upset. "Why do you think he auditioned?! After all the hard work you put into the show!" She "sobbed." "It just doesn't seem right!" Then she turned and ran up the stairs.

As soon as Kenny called cut they all began to laugh hysterically. "That was awesome!" Lucas congratulated.

"Very impressive." Alyson agreed.

"You rock at dramatics!" Vanessa was clutching her side.

"Alright you guys, great work! Ashley and Lucas, go grab some lunch. Corbin and Zac have one more scene to do then you all can take a break!" Kenny instructed.

Lucas and Ashley gladly walked outside and they stretched out on the grass. About a half hour later, pizza had arrived and the rest of the cast stumbled out to them.

"Food!" Corbin yelled then stole the piece out of Ashley's hand and stuffed almost all of it in his mouth at once. He sighed in relief after he swallowed the last bit then took another.

Everyone stared at him then began to chatter and eat. After lunch, they all walked back in and began to regroup.

"Alright. Lucas and Ashley are going to do the call back's speech and then we're going to come back here and do the very beginning of 'Status quo' and we also will be doing Chad's ending of the scene."

Lucas and Ashley ran off to the call backs sheet and they set up the scene.

"Okay Ashley." Tom said, focusing his camera lens and smiling at them. "You're going to go: 'Call backs?!' Then scream at the top of your lungs. Then we'll go from there. Got it?" He asked.

Ashley nodded and cleared her throat. "Action." Tom whispered. "Call backs?! AHHHHHHH!" Ashley screamed as loud as she could then began to fan herself as a tribute to her friends who used to do that all the time when ever something momentous happened.

"Cut." Tom cried happily. Lucas massaged his ears and grimaced. "Thanks Ash, as if my ears weren't shot enough from the first scream."

Ashley smiled sweetly and they quickly finished up the scene. They also finished the scene right before the song then they got changed and sat down to watch Corbin's scene.

"You do not want to get into that man! Too much drama!" Corbin instructed.

"Yeah…" Zac replied, staring at Vanessa and being dragged away.

The boys were not quite as focused as everyone else however. Especially Chris, who couldn't seem to get the crème Brule description out.

"Oh it's a creamy custard with a-" He begin but then he'd start laughing. "Caramelized surface!" He choked out.

They restarted his speech and this time he got to the "it's really satisfying." Line but Zac began to laugh so they started again.

Almost 45 minutes later, they were all done. "Tomorrow we will do any re-shoots needed for 'Status Quo' then we'll do the scenes after it. Tomorrow will be more of a relaxing day than anything else so get rest tonight and come on in tomorrow. Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight Kenny." They all chanted then dragged themselves back to the hotel.

They had a nice dinner together in the girl's room to celebrate the end of another day of filming but also to say goodbye to Adele, who was leaving on a red-eye that night.

After the boys had left, Adele turned to them and said, "Girls, when you all get together and are so in love with each other, don't forget to call me and keep me updated." She instructed then hugged each of them and Monique walked her out of the building.

"Well that was different." Vanessa said her eyes a little wide.

"Yeah, what was that about?" Ashley replied.

They shrugged and went back to watching movies for the rest of the night.

**So I updated. I'm really bad at endings on chapters and stories so sorry if the endings suck. Wow, this might be a bit spastic because this weeks been so crazy. Science fair, tests, school, physical therapy and tension and my cousins are here right now so it's crazazy! And this week I've got more science fair and I have to go to the hospital for tests. Ugh! Oh well, enough about me. How are you? Have you had nice weeks? Did you like the chapter? Send in your feedback for it is much appreciated! Love you all! XOXO**


	25. Chapter 25

They spent another day reshooting some scenes around "Status Quo" and finally, the day for "When There Was Me and You" came. Vanessa was extremely nervous and threw up that morning.

Ashley ran in when she heard someone retching then blanched and ran to get Monique. Monique rolled her eyes at Ashley and kneeled next to Vanessa with a glass of water.

"Hey Nesquick, you alright?" She murmured.

Vanessa moaned, "What do you think?"

"No need to sass me." Monique replied, "Drink this, slowly!" She instructed then helped Vanessa raise the glass to her lips.

Vanessa finally stood up and thanked Monique then sent her out of the bathroom. She quickly jumped in the shower and shakily sang through her song to practice.

"Come on, Nessa, we're going to be late!"

Vanessa pulled on a light blue sweat suit and clipped her wet hair back then ran out after the girls. Vanessa spent the van ride in complete silence and Ashley stared at her, growing worried.

As soon as Lucas slid into the seat next to her, she practically pounced on him. "Something's wrong with Vanessa." She informed him.

Lucas glanced from Ashley to Vanessa and rolled his eyes, "Ash, just because she isn't as bright and bubbly as you, doesn't mean something's wrong with her." He replied.

"No!" She thumped him on the arm, "She is! She threw up this morning and she hasn't spoken since!"

"Did you ever think she was just nervous or something?" He asked, looking back at Vanessa again.

Ashley sighed, "You're such a spoil sport!" She moaned.

Zac, who had overheard their conversation, stood up and sat down next to Vanessa. "Hey, what's the scene, jelly bean?" He asked. Vanessa looked up at him as if realizing he was there for the first time. "Huh?"

"Ness, are you alright? You look a little green around the gills." Vanessa gripped her stomach tighter.

"Just not feeling myself." She mumbled.

"Are you nervous? Because if you are, don't be. You're not really going to be singing, and we'll all be there so you're not alone."

"I'm not nervous." Vanessa insisted. Zac raised his eyebrows at her and she sighed in frustration, "Okay, I'm a little nervous. But what if I mess up?!" She groaned.

"We all mess up all the time. Just laugh it off and continue the scene. You'll do great." Zac reassured.

Vanessa smiled a little, "Thanks Zac, I feel better."

"Anytime." He replied, putting an arm around her shoulder and squeezing it. Ashley squealed and Lucas clapped a hand over her mouth.

"They are so in love." She sighed. Lucas rolled his eyes, "Come on cupid, we're gonna be late." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the van.

Long after Lucas had released her hand, Ashley still felt tingles and sparks inside it.

WDCT

"Alright Vanessa, here's how it's going to work," Kenny was explaining to Vanessa, one on one for once, "Monique is going to do her scene. We're going to cut then Zac is going to stand off camera and say his lines to you instead of running the tape. Then we'll cut again and we'll start your scene. I'm going to send Ken with the main camera unit to follow you and then we'll have other guys around with cameras to get certain shots. I'm going to stay here with everyone else and watch the feedback. Any questions or suggestions?" He told her patiently.

"Um…I'm going to be alone?"

"Ken will be there and Jerry and Kyle will be placed strategically around the hallways and such so no, you won't be alone." He clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be great. Can we get hair and wardrobe check on everyone please?" He yelled suddenly.

Vanessa jumped then wandered towards Adrienne who quickly re-glossed her lips and sprayed her hair with hairspray. "You're perfect." She chimed, then patted her on the head.

Vanessa smiled faintly and headed back towards her stool. Lucas, who had been walking by the classroom they were in, paused then strode over to her.

"Hey superstar, what's shakin?" He asked, pulling a chair over and straddling it so he was facing the back.

"Hey Lucas, nothing really, you?"

"I'm not the one who's got a big solo coming up." Vanessa's smile faltered.

"Yeah." She replied shakily.

"Listen, don't pay attention to the camera or anyone else. You're just in the shower, singing about that stupid boy who broke your heart. No one else is around. And better yet, all you need to worry about is matching your mouth to the words."

"I never thought about it that way."

"Just think like that and you'll do awesome. We all have faith in you." Then he squeezed her shoulder and left the room. Monique came in and they began to shoot the scene.

They got up to Monique's improvised "Oprah Winfrey" line before they all started laughing and had to restart that section. Then, in came Zac, Ashley, Lucas and Chris.

They joined Chucky along the back wall and Zac went over to talk quietly to Vanessa. Chucky popped open a bag of chips and they passed it around.

"Look at them. They so belong together." Ashley sighed. The boys rolled their eyes and began to mouth along with her as she went on and on about them until finally, Lucas took a few chips and shoved them in Ashley's mouth.

"Okay people, let's get started." Kenny yelled.

Ashley, Chris, Lucas and Chucky quietly observed as Zac cleared his throat and began to speak. Vanessa stared at him and imagined he was really saying this to her.

'_He's so cute and nice and funny…NO Vanessa! Resist him! Okay, focus, think sad, you need to cry! Oh, oh goodness, I think I like him!'_ Vanessa realized this and felt tears welling up in her eyes and slowly run down her cheeks as Monique walked on screen and invited her to lunch.

Vanessa's voice felt too full to speak and she shook her head. "Cut! That was awesome!" Kenny yelled and handed her a Kleenex. Vanessa smiled her thanks and Leo checked on her makeup.

"Okay, can we get the music set up please? Vanessa, go over to the window and get ready." Kenny told her.

Vanessa nodded while Zac went over and stood with his four cast mates. "When There Was Me and You" began to play and Vanessa mouthed along with the words then pushed off the table and walked forward as Ken moved backwards with the camera unit.

Everything went smoothly until they got to the balcony, where Vanessa was to do a "swoopy" move on the railing. Her heel slid out from under her and she slammed to the floor.

Ken cut the tape and helped her up. Chucky ran down to her and taught her the move again then they resumed filming. This time, Vanessa did it almost perfectly and continued towards the stairs.

While she was spinning on the railing, her feet gave out from under her and she slid down the stairs until she bumped into the camera at the bottom.

"Oh my God, are you alright, honey?" Ken asked, rushing to her side. Vanessa rolled over and burst out laughing.

"Vanessa," Ken said carefully as she cackled, "listen to me, are you hurt?" He asked.

Vanessa shook her head and held her hands to her red face.

"I'm fine." She gasped then finally stood up. They finished the scene, finally and took a quick lunch break before finishing that part of the movie. All during the meal, Vanessa kept avoiding Zac's eyes and blushing whenever he talked to her.

"I think our plan is working." Ashley whispered to Lucas. "But we haven't done anything."

"Shhh, that's beside the point."

"What are you two whispering about?" Monique asked.

"Nothing!" they replied in unison, leaping away from each other. Monique eyed them warily then continued to attempt to get Vanessa to talk.

After an awkward lunch, they returned to the set to finish the scene right after Gabriella's solo. "Hey." Zac as Troy said, walking up to Vanessa, who was stuffing things into her locker. He leaned against the locked and Vanessa stole a glance at him and felt her knees go weak.

He was saying his lines but she wasn't paying attention at all, the only thing she could focus on were his eyes.

Evidently, it was her line but instead of blowing him off, she dropped the books and papers she was holding, pushed Zac into the locked and kissed him passionately.

Ashley grabbed Lucas' hand and gasped, "Did you see that?!" she hissed.

"No, Ashley, I've gone temporarily blind." Lucas replied sarcastically. Ashley scoffed and stared in rapture.

Lucas stared at Ashley and a small smile formed on his face. Kenny cleared his throat, "Excuse me?" He called and the two broke apart.

Vanessa blushed and buried her neck in Zac's shoulder while Zac rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip.

"Sorry Kenny." They mumbled.

"Um, it's fine, let's finish the scene first though." They quickly finished the scene then Kenny gave them all a break. As soon as Kenny walked away, Ashley pounced on Vanessa.

"I knew you liked him!" she screamed, "I so called it!"

"Yes, yes Ashley, you're a genius." Vanessa gave in, too happy to care.

"Finally you all recognize my intelligence."

"Or lack there of." Monique chimed in. They all laughed and Kenny walked back on set with a water bottle.

"Let's get outfit changes and continue with our scenes please." That afternoon, they finished the montage of Gabriella and Troy ignoring each other and got up to Monique's apology.

Lucas and Ashley spent most of the day playing cards because they weren't in any of the scenes. The only scene they did do, was the one before "When There Was Me and You" when Taylor and Chad form their plan.

Ashley strutted down the hall with Lucas in tow and pretended to notice Chad walk into the science lab. She stopped short, causing Lucas to stop short,

"Something isn't right." She told him then marched to the doorway and leaned against the frame. They began to scheme but Ashley didn't notice most of the scene because she was too busy being well aware of how close Lucas was to her and how nice he smelled.

"Ryan, we need to save our show from people who don't know the difference between a Tony Award and Tony Hawk." She said with conviction then turned and sauntered off.

After that, they went back to playing cards.

"That's cheating." Lucas complained.

"No it's not!"

"You can't pick one up then put it back! It's like double dipping, only more sanitized!"

"No it's not! You get one chance to do a redo!"

"That's not in the Poker rule book!"

"There is no Poker rule book!"

"Yes there is!"

"No there isn't!"

"Yes there is!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!" Finally, Ashley gave up and put her cards down. "Fine, let's play Spit!"

Lucas rolled his eyes but they set up the game and began to play. Towards the end of the third round, they both slammed their hands down on the same pile.

Lucas' hand was over Ashley's and she blushed and slid her hand out from under his.

After a few moments, Lucas cleared his throat, "Okay, I lied, there isn't a rule book."

**I'm sorry for not updating over the weekend but I had to finish my science project! Right now, I'm home sick so it just worked out that I could update. Technically, I should be studying for Latin and History but that's okay! Sadly and happily, I figured out part of the ending of this story. It's good because normally I have no idea how to end anything but it's sad because I don't want this story to end. Don't worry, we have to get through the whole movie and most likely, there will be an epilogue! So anyway, yay for Zac and Vanessa! Don't worry, Luley will happen soon! Ish…maybe…Oh well! As always, thank you for the reviews, you all rock! XOXO**


	26. Chapter 26

After Zac and Vanessa got together, Ashley and Lucas were the only ones left who hadn't paired off. This made things a little awkward for them when everyone was watching movies together.

Especially one night when everyone but Ashley and Lucas fell asleep with their respective partners. Ashley was curled up on a bean bag chair and Lucas was sprawled on the floor in front of the couch.

"Lucas?" Ashley practically breathed. Lucas lifted his head and turned towards her.

"We should go." He mouthed, gesturing towards the boy's kitchen. Ashley nodded and they carefully picked their way into the kitchen and Lucas turned the dim microwave light on.

She slid down the fridge and brought her knees up to her chest. Lucas sat down across from her and leaned against some cabinets. "I don't want the filming to end." She confided.

"I know, I don't either." He agreed. "I've had so much fun living with Mo and Ness, drinking coffee with Corbin, staying up all night watching movies with everyone, flirting with you-" Ashley broke off and blushed.

Lucas bit his lip to hide a smile and stared at her. "Well Miss Tisdale, I have thoroughly enjoyed your company as well." Ashley giggled then stood up and swayed around.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Dancing," She replied simply then held her hands out to him, "Dance with me?" She pouted. Lucas stared at her for several long moments then took her hand and stood up.

She smiled and put her hands around his shoulders. He took her waist and they started to sway together. He matched his hips to her and they began to move back and forth in perfect harmony. Ashley couldn't breath, couldn't think, couldn't focus on anything but the feeling of Lucas moving with her.

Lucas was having similar feelings. _'Okay Lucas, we need to be professional'_ He thought. _'You can do it, you can do it. Step back…now!'_ His mind argued for a long time.

He hadn't realized that they'd stopped moving until he noticed how much closer he and Ashley were. His face was hovering right above hers, he could count her eyelashes, and it almost felt like her breaths were his.

As he was titling her head towards his, a crash came from the living room and the leapt apart like they had been burned. Ashley stumbled into the room where the rest of the cast slumbered and turned a light on.

Drew, who was visiting for a few days, and Monique had rolled off the couch which caused Olesya to wake up and slide out of Corbin's lap and onto the floor. This then caused Vanessa to scream when Olesya landed on her which jolted Zac awake.

Lucas ran in with a fire extinguisher and everyone stared at him.

"What?" He asked, "I didn't know what happened. There could have been a dangerous forest fire reeking havoc on you!" He defended.

Everyone rolled there eyes and laughed and Ashley sank to the floor, still weak from her almost kiss with Lucas.

"I think we all should go to bed." Monique said, getting off the floor and dragging Drew up. "We have another long day tomorrow." The boys all shuffled back to their rooms, Olesya curled up on the couch because she was too tired to go back to her room and the girls retired to their rooms.

Ashley could not sleep; one thing was on her mind. _Lucas…_ Little did she know that Lucas was having similar thoughts about her in his room.

WDCT

The next day, they filmed the scenes leading up to 'Bop to the Top.' The first things they shot were the two scenes where Gabriella and Troy are practicing on their own and Ryan and Sharpay hear them.

They started with the boys because they were less likely to laugh and therefore it would take less time. Zac sat on some bleachers and sang 'Breaking Free' while Lucas walked up some steps and titled his head when he heard Zac's voice.

He fiddled with the door handle and Zac stopped singing then Lucas skillfully dropped to the floor and looked under. Ken instructed Zac to tilt his head so he turned it and executed it quickly.

Lucas then stood up and sighed before continuing to walk down the hall. "Yes! I knew starting with you was a good idea!" Kenny cheered and Lucas and Zac laughed.

"Hey man, nice hat." Zac joked. Lucas righted his hat and scowled, "Not my fault I have a hat head." He replied then started laughing.

"Okay, let's do the girls now." Kenny said, gathering the equipment and walking to the other side of the building. Ashley and Vanessa were talking with Chris about food while they waited for Kenny to show up.

"I like cinnamon buns." Ashley said dreamily.

"Those are really bad for you. They have a like a billion calories." Vanessa replied.

"I'm not counting."

"I'm not either; it's just probably not healthy to consume all of them."

"But they're sugary and sticky and gooey and yum!"

"Yeah, gosh Vanessa!" Chris countered. The girls giggled at him.

"Besides, Pop Tarts kick cinnamon buns butts!" Chris informed them.

"Do not!" They squealed.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"How could Pop Tarts possibly be better than cinnamon buns?!"

"Pop Tarts probably don't have as many calories!"

"Do you know that for a fact?"

"No, I'm guesstimating."

"Guesstimating doesn't count!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's guessing!"

"It's an educated guess!"

"Yeah, whatever you say Chris!" Thankfully for Chris, Kenny chose that moment to arrive and quickly broke up their debate.

They quickly set up the scene and stared to film. Ashley strutted down the hall and paused when she heard Vanessa singing then turned and walked into the bathroom. She looked around and saw no one so she expertly lifted her leg and karate kicked one of the doors.

As she was doing this, her other foot slid off her heel and she fell forward and grabbed onto the stall. "HA! I didn't fall!" She yelled triumphantly.

"Cut!" They restarted and this time, Ashley kept her balance then turned and instead of not seeing Vanessa, caught the younger girl's eye and started to laugh. It took ten minutes to settle the actresses down and finally, Kenny called for attention and they finished the scene.

The next few scenes were Vanessa and Zac rehearsing with Olesya then came the big plot scene. Ashley and Lucas hadn't really spoken since the previous nights events and Lucas didn't really acknowledge Ashley at all.

They walked down the hall singing 'Bop to the Top' then pretended to hear singing. Ashley gasped and turned towards Lucas who grimaced, "They sound good." Ashley scoffed and clicked to the door then stood on her toes and peered in.

She pretended to see Vanessa and Zac singing then spun around and clutched the door. "We have to do something!" She cried.

They continued to walk down the hall and scheme until Ashley paused, "Too bad all these events weren't happening on the same day. At the same time."

"But that wouldn't work out because then Troy and Gabriella would miss the final call backs-" Ashley gave Lucas a "duh" face and he nodded, "I'm proud to call you my sister." He said with a smile. She smirked, "I know!" Then sauntered away.

"Cut! Great job!" Ashley and Lucas smiled.

"Lucas?" He turned towards her, expecting her to confront him about last night. Instead, Ashley pulled the towel off his shoulder and fidgeted with it. "What's with the towel?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Eh, Maureen shoved it at me on my way out of the trailer." He shrugged.

"It makes no sense! Unless you were like working out before this or something and you wiped the sweat off your brow."

"Or if I went swimming."

"Or you're a bull fighter in your off time and you're so skilled, your towel thingy's white." Lucas burst out laughing. "Oh yeah, that's it." He replied sarcastically.

They then moved into a large, dark and slightly humid room to have their big scene with Alyson. Olesya sat at a piano and doodled in a notebook, trying to make it look like she was composing when she heard a door slam open and she shot her head up.

"…Then I might actually agree with you." Alyson told them, then turned and made a dramatic exit. Ashley sighed in relief and played with her purse while Lucas stared after Ms. Darbus.

"Was that a yes?" He asked. Instead of saying her line, Ashley gave him an over-exaggerated wink and turned out of the room.

They broke for lunch then started in on the day of the call backs scenes. Lucas didn't speak to Ashley at all during lunch even though Ashley kept trying to start conversations with him.

Ashley was crestfallen and confronted Monique about it, "Maybe he's just tired." She suggested but Ashley shrugged and slouched off to change her costume.

They did the "Pi pie" scene and had a lot of fun throwing the bean bag basket balls around then they set up chairs and benches so the basket ball team could do their part.

Zac and Corbin led Ashley and Lucas forward and Ashley leaned against the door frame while Lucas stepped back to let Alyson forward then leaned against the opposite door frame.

"Watch, from our team to yours!" Corbin told them then got in his place. "G.O.D.R.A.M.A.C.L.U.B. EXCLAMATION POINT!" They performed.

Ashley tried to keep a straight face but lost it when Chris started to rock back on forth as each person said a letter.

They reset the scene and did it three more times. "Well, it seems we Wildcats are in for an interesting afternoon." Alyson muttered then pushed past Lucas.

"Go-go go dr-dra-dray-dray?" Lucas stuttered as an improvised reading disorder. Ashley stared at him then rolled her eyes and walked back into the class room.

After that, Bart and Zac did the infamous shirtless scene, during which all of the girls huddled around the camera to watch the play back. "Back off of my man!" Vanessa teased as Ashley and Olesya simpered.

They also did the gym scene where Zac ran up behind Vanessa and spun her around. The cast spent the rest of the day finishing off all of the scenes that were before and after 'Bop to the Top,' which Kenny scheduled for the next day.

After spending an entire day being almost completely ignored by her co-star, Ashley lost it. He walked into her mini dressing room to see if she was ready to go and she whirled on him.

"What is your major childhood trauma?!" She demanded.

Lucas was taken aback and stared at Ashley. "Excuse me?"

"You-you are impossible!" She shrieked. "You are all 'flirt, flirt, flirt' for weeks on end then last night you and I had one small moment and now you're all 'professional!' What is wrong with you?!"

Lucas opened his mouth to explain but she grabbed her purse and cut him off, "Save it for someone who wants to hear it, because I'm through with listening to you." She hissed then stormed off, leaving Lucas extremely confused.

Ashley maintained silence at Lucas the entire van ride to the hotel and talked to everyone but him.

That night, Ashley cried bitterly in the shower then fell into an uneasy sleep while Lucas continually slammed his head into the wall of his room until Corbin piped up with, "Dude, quit it before you die! Or worse, I come in and kill you."

'_What have I done?'_ Was all Lucas could think for the entire night.

**Ooh, dramatic much? Do you think Ashley over reacted? I was thinking that while I wrote this but I think sometimes you just need to vent. And don't worry, this will all work out. I promise. Any suggestions as the end draws nearer? I haven't quite decided a few things, such as when Ashley and Lucas get together but I think I've almost got it. If you have anything you want to see in the story, PM me or write it in a review. It's not or never! Thanks for reading this lengthy and rather OCD story though! XOXO!**


	27. Chapter 27

Lucas spent the entire night trying to think of a good way to talk to Ashley. Just as dawn was breaking across the horizon, he had an idea and he quickly began to scribble on a piece of paper.

Around 7:30, Zac and Corbin dragged themselves into the kitchen area to find Lucas sitting at the breakfast bar with a cup of coffee in his hands, writing away on a notebook.

"Hey man." Corbin mumbled, pulling out a mug and pouring some coffee.

"You sleep at all?" Zac asked, shaking a carton of orange juice.

Lucas looked up, his eyes bloodshot and his face exhausted, "Huh?" He stared at them then looked back down at his master piece.

"What are you working on?" Zac reached across the bar and snatched the paper away before Lucas could stop him. As he read it, Corbin read over his shoulder, and then he handed it back to Lucas.

"It sucks, I know." Lucas sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"She'll like it. What's your plan?" Lucas shrugged then dragged himself into the shower and spent several minutes letting the water cascade down him before Zac knocked on the door.

"Come on, dude, we're going to be late!"

Lucas mumbled incoherently then stepped out of the shower, dried himself off and pulled on a black t-shirt with khaki pants. The boys met the girls in the lobby and Vanessa sidled up to Zac and slid an arm around his waist.

"Hey," She greeted.

"Good morning," He replied, kissing her on the cheek.

Vanessa glanced and saw Lucas leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, "Looks like not all of us are having good mornings,"

"Yeah, he didn't sleep at all last night,"

"Really?" Zac nodded and Corbin came up to them, "We should do something!"

"Such as?"

"I dunno, I just make the suggestions!" They all laughed and walked up to Kenny.

"Hello everyone! We'll be doing 'Bop to the Top' today so Lucas and Ashley, could you go stretch, warm up and get into hair and makeup. The rest of you will be chilling out, helping the crew and such," Kenny signaled for Ashley and Lucas to go to it so Ashley breezed past him into one of the dance studios and began to stretch.

Lucas rolled his eyes and slid the envelope further into his pocket then stretched and began to warm up with her. The only time she even acknowledged him was when she accidentally smiled when he almost fell over but she immediately caught herself and put a blank expression back on.

They dragged themselves through hair and makeup and Ashley nearly collapsed when she put her dress on then they went to the stage.

Kenny met them there, "Okay, we're just going to do it like we normally go it but with cameras. It should be easy, alright? Any questions? No? Good!"

Kenny clapped Lucas on the back and he grimaced which caused Ashley to giggle. He caught her eye for a moment and opened his mouth to speak but then she turned and started chatting with Olesya.

Kenny set up the scene then yelled, "Action!"

Lucas pretended to burst through a door then posed, "Mucho gusto!"

Ashley skipped on stage and began to flutter herself, "Aye que fabulosa!" Then trilled her R's and stomped towards him, "Aye, aye, aye!"

Lucas stripped his jacket and grinned at her, "Arriba!"

"¿Quieres bailar?"

"Mirame!" He replied, wiggling his eyebrows. Ashley started laughing and Kenny yelled cut. He gave them a few minutes to catch their breath then they started again.

"I believe in dreamin, shootin for the stars!" Ashley sang, walking forward and "shooting" a bow.

"Baby to be number one, you've got to raise the bar!" Lucas sang back, shimmying forward.

Ashley turned to Lucas and pretended to kick him, except it wasn't so pretend and she kicked him in the shin. Lucas groaned and clutched his leg while Ashley covered her mouth in shock, "I am so sorry!" She gasped, forgetting she was mad at him and kneeling down then rolling his pant leg.

There was a red mark on his leg and a bruise was forming. She sighed and without thinking, kissed her hand and lightly brushed his leg. Lucas forgot about the pain and stared at her.

Ashley glanced up at him and blushed, "Right. Sorry." She stood up and grabbed the ice pack Chucky handed her then thrust it at Lucas and turned away.

Five minutes later, Lucas tossed the ice pack back to Chucky and nodded at Kenny.

"Take three!" He yelled and they started again.

"Kickin and scratchin! Grinding out my best!" Ashley sang, rotating her hips.

"Anything it takes to climb the ladder of success!" Lucas sang back and he and Ashley looked at each other and smiled. They continued to work in unison for awhile but when Lucas grabbed Ashley's hand to dance with her, she gasped and forgot her words.

"Take four!"

"Scoot around the corner!" Lucas shook his hips in a circle and all the girls swooned, "Move it to the groove till the music stops! Do the bop bop bop to the top! Don't ever stop! Bop to the top! Gimme, gimme! Shimmy, shimmy!"

The first time they climbed the ladder, Lucas almost fell and gripped the ladder harder which caused it to start to tilt his way. He quickly jumped off while Ashley screamed and he ran around to her side and grabbed her legs.

The ladder wobbled a little but stayed upright and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Again! Take five!" After a very long day of "bopping to the top," Lucas and Ashley were done. Ashley walked back to her dressing room and slid out of her heels and took her dress off then pulled on a pink sweat suit.

She sat down at her makeup table and looked at her reflection only to find a note stuck to it.

**Ashley **was all that was written on it.

She furrowed her brow and pulled it off the mirror then ripped open the envelope and began to read the letter.

My dearest Ashley,

I've spent the entire night trying to decide how to tell you this and now that it's 4:30 in the morning, I've figured it out. So here is a short poem for you:

I don't know what to say

Then again, I don't know why I feel this way.

I took this job to pay the rent

But as soon as I arrived this is how it went:

I met a beautiful blonde, who changed the way I see

And now she's stuck in my head and it's driving me crazy.

And even though I tried to deny it

I really cannot possibly hide it

Because even though I'm an actor and this is what I do

I cannot pretend that I'm not crazy for you.

And even though we're fighting now

We'll pull through this, someway, some how.

What I'm really getting at, you see

Is Ashley will you go out with me?

**Dun, dun, dun! By the way, you have my mother to thank because I was going to end the chapter where she starts to read the letter but Mom told me to add in the letter too! So, the stories almost over! cries Okay, I'm good! I think this is going to be 30 chapters, possibly 31 but wow! I started this, figuring it would be good practice and it would probably be my normal 8-9 chapters…but its 27! Wow! Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! I love them, they make my day! Oh and I've started a new story: Thorn of the Rose! It's a Troypay and Ryella so check it out if you're into those pairings! And if you're looking for similar stories, check out Angel of the Starz stories: Guardian Angel, Stars in Your Eyes and Separation Anxiety! So that's about it, thank you and good night!**


	28. Chapter 28

_I don't know what to say_

_Then again, I don't know why I feel this way. _

_I took this job to pay the rent_

_But as soon as I arrived this is how it went:_

_I met a beautiful blonde, who changed the way I see_

_And now she's stuck in my head and it's driving me crazy._

_And even though I tried to deny it_

_I really cannot possibly hide it_

_Because even though I'm an actor and this is what I do_

_I cannot pretend that I'm not crazy for you. _

_And even though we're fighting now_

_We'll pull through this, someway, some how._

_What I'm really getting at, you see_

_Is Ashley will you go out with me?_

Ashley could have sworn her eyes were playing tricks on her so she read, then re-read then re-re-read the letter until she had it memorized. She began to breath heavily then screamed and started jumping up and down.

Monique ran as fast as she could and stumbled in the door. "Stop drop and roll!" She yelled, looking around quickly and seeing Ashley clutching a piece of paper to her chest.

Monique sagged against the door, "You're not dying?" she asked, breathing heavily.

"Mo!" She yelled and launched herself into the young woman's arms and began to sob.

"Ashley!" Monique cried, "What's the matter?!"

"Oh Mo! I screwed everything up!"

"Screwed what up?"

"With Lucas! I totally screwed it up!" She pulled back and wiped her eyes, "See!" She sniffed and stuffed the letter into Monique's hands.

Monique read the letter and as she read, her eyes widened. "Oh he is so sweet! What's the matter, though, I don't see a problem."

"I yelled at him and have been blowing him off and now this! I can't very well just go up and kiss him!" She moaned and covered her face with her hands.

"All is not lost! Listen, Kenny decided to film the initial shots for 'Breaking Free' tonight and he's letting all of us sit in the audience to hang out! Corbin ordered subs, I think…Just go out there and tell him how you feel!"

The color drained from Ashley's face and she shook her head, "I-I don't know…"

Monique rolled her eyes and grabbed Ashley's wrist then dragged her out of the room. They sat down in the audience with the boys. Several trays of food surrounded them and they were all reclined with their legs over the seats in front of them.

Monique grinned and sat down next to Drew, who offered her some of his sandwich. Ashley sighed and between Corbin and Lucas.

Lucas remained impassive and Corbin handed Ashley a turkey sandwich.

Ashley turned to Lucas and opened her mouth to speak but Kenny came over and clapped his hands, "Alright, I know I said we were done but I decided we could shoot 'Breaking Free' tonight to get the main stuff down then tomorrow we can finish the scene and then spend the afternoon working on the other mini-scenes and such. I need you to be quiet, please."

Then turned and talked to Olesya, Zac and Vanessa.

"Lucas" Ashley whispered but Kenny turned and made the "Sh" signal so she slumped back in her seat to watch 'Breaking Free.' The music started to play and Olesya pretended to play the piano and Vanessa looked out at them and "froze."

Corbin leaned close to Ashley, "That's so dumb, she doesn't even sing first! What's it matter?" He practically breathed.

"I know, it's so random!" She replied. Corbin shook his head and sat back again.

"I can't do it Troy, not with all these people staring at me." Vanessa said, turning to walk off the stage.

Zac rushed forward and grabbed her wrist so she turned towards him. "Hey, hey, look at me! Right at me! Like the first time we sang together, remember? Like Kindergarten!" He smiled at her and she smiled reluctantly back then the song started again.

Ashley smiled because she loved the song and thought it was inspirational.

Vanessa and Zac did great until it came time for Vanessa to take her lab coat off. Zac was "moon squaring" and she was supposed to unbutton her coat and toss it to the stagehand.

Instead, she stood there pulled helplessly at the coat until Kenny yelled, "cut" Adrienne ran on and adjusted Vanessa's hair while everyone laughed at her for not being able to unbutton a coat.

Vanessa blushed and pretended to kick her cast mates from the stage.

"Nice outfit, Nessa!" Ashley teased. Vanessa stuck her tongue out at her and wrapped her arms around herself.

"It's not my fault they dressed me like a grandmother!" She called back.

"Okay guys, back to position!" Kenny said, laughing at the banter. They started again and this time, the stagehand that was supposed to catch the coat, came up and undid it for her.

She and Zac danced to each other and he spun her around during the "Soaring, flying!" part. They did well then came the dramatic moment when they sang around the piano.

Olesya really got into it and stood up to add effect but when she kicked the bench, it fell off the stage with a loud bang and both girls jumped and screamed.

Kenny and Drew put the bench back on the stage and they re-shot that part. Zac grabbed Vanessa's hand and spun her across the stage but her heels gave out and she fell onto the moon with a _crash!_

Zac ran over to her and helped her up. "Nessa, are you alright?!" He asked, scanning her body worriedly.

She giggled and rubbed her back, "I think I'll live." Then smiled shyly and pulled Zac's head down to hers and a make-out session ensued.

Kenny cleared his throat uncomfortably and they broke apart. "Can we get started? I'd like to get outta here before midnight!" Kenny teased.

"Sorry Kenny" They mumbled and did the spin-y thing again.

They finally finished the song and everyone jumped to their feet and applauded. Ashley kept trying to talk to Lucas but every time she did, he either would be talking to someone else or someone would start talking to her.

Kenny dismissed them and it was almost 11:30 when they arrived at the hotel.

Drew and Monique went into her room, with the door open, to watch a movie on her portable DVD player and pretend to not be making out. Olesya and Corbin went down to the arcade to play DDR. Zac and Vanessa curled up on the boy's couch to talk and Ashley turned to Lucas but he had already ducked into the boy's suite and closed the door.

Ashley groaned and went back to her room and crawled into bed. She couldn't sleep but she didn't want to move so she laid there for hours.

When the suite became silent, she rolled over and looked at the clock: **3:27** was what it read.

She sighed and kicked the covers off herself then crossed to the window and looked outside. In the distance, she could see the lights of the town and she smiled at the beauty of it.

The blonde sighed again and walked out into the kitchen and poured herself some water. Then groaning in frustration slid down the fridge and hit her head on it. "Ow…ugh!"

Ashley was getting more annoyed by the second. She had spent her hours in bed fantasizing about knocking on Lucas' door and making out with him but she knew it wasn't going to happen.

Suddenly, she had an idea! Ashley stood up, ran to the bathroom and brushed her hair and teeth then grabbed her credit card and snuck across the hall to the boy's room.

She slid the credit card through the crack of the door and after several attempts, it clicked open. She did a little silent victory dance and air clapped then got a grip and let herself in.

Zac was asleep on the couch which meant Vanessa was asleep in his room, most likely anyway. She crept as quietly as she could through the dark and ran into a door then fell over.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" She whispered to herself, rubbing her head and standing back up. She quickly navigated to the door then opened it and slipped inside. Ashley crawled up to the bed and began to shake him.

"Lucas!" She whispered, "Lucas! Come on, wake up!" He groaned and batted at her but she shoved harder and he sat up and turned to her.

Ashley reached out and ran a hand down his chest then he turned the light on. And she screamed at the top of her lungs and leapt backwards.

"Corbin?!" She screamed again.

Lights flew on all over the suite and Vanessa, Lucas and Zac stumbled into the room.

"Ashley, what the hell?!" Corbin demanded.

"What's the matter?" Vanessa mumbled, leaning against Zac and yawning.

Ashley caught Lucas' eye and she blushed then mumbled "I'm sorry, it was a mistake" and stumbled out of the room.

Vanessa, Corbin and Zac stood there staring after her while Lucas pushed off the doorframe and ran after her.

WDCT

Ashley ran as fast as she could and ended up outside in the pool area. She collapsed at the edge of the pool and pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in her arms. Sobs wracked her body and she gasped for breath.

Lucas followed behind her and paused at the gate to give her a few minutes. He sighed deeply then silently walked over and sat down next to her.

"Do you enjoy molesting poor boys with afros in the middle of the night?" He asked quietly, smiling at her.

Ashley jumped and lifted her tear streaked face to look at him. She stared for a long time then a giggle bubbled up then another then another until she was giggling like mad. He grinned at her and dropped her legs into the water.

"Why, may I ask, were you in Corbin's room, anyway?" He asked, kicked his legs to stir the water.

She stared at the ripples and wiped the tears off her face, "I was going to see you." Her voice was hoarse.

He nodded but kept his expression blank.

"But I ran into the wall then I went into the wrong room and I thought it was you but it wasn't then I screamed and you all came in and, and-" She realized she was rambling and blushed, "I'm sorry." She whispered her voice as light as the wind.

"For what?" He asked huskily.

She bit her lip and looked up at the sky, "Everything." She laughed nervously, "This is like a scene in a cheesy romantic comedy."

He chuckled, "Be that as it may, you really have nothing to be sorry for. Well, not to me anyway."

Ashley sniffled and sighed, "You're wrong! I mean, I was a complete bitch to you for no reason! Well, you were being pretty annoying but still, that didn't give me the right to blow up on you! And then the dancing and that kiss and God, I couldn't take it anymore and then…the poem." She whispered the last part.

His face showed no emotion and she continued, "And I tried to talk to you but Kenny kept saying "shhhh" and I was all "ahhhhhhhhhh!" because I really needed to talk to you!" She blurted out.

Lucas finally turned towards her. "And he wouldn't let me talk and when he stopped "sh-ing," someone would interrupt and this day has totally sucked because I was so mean and you were so nice and, and-" Lucas finally cut her off with his lips on hers.

She gasped as best she could considering her lips were rather preoccupied and Lucas cupped her face with his hands and tilted her head up.

She fluttered her eyes closed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Lucas pulled away first and his eyes were the color of the stormy ocean.

Ashley was breathing heavily again, "Oh wow…" she mumbled then looked at him.

"Lucas?" He turned towards her, "I like you too."

**Woo! They are so finally together! It only took 28 chapters but it feels so good! Hah! Okay, as always, you guys amaze me! I have so many reviews and I owe it all to you! Lol that rhymed! So, was this "cheese whiz up the wazoo?" Or was it decent? Either way, I'm satisfied and I hope you're satisfied! In the mean time and between time, check out Thorn of the Rose and a story similar and different to mine: Stars in Your Eyes! Alright? Peace out!**


	29. Chapter 29

"_Lucas?" He turned towards her, "I like you too." _

After that, everything was a happy blur for Ashley. Lucas and she spent the rest of the night out by the pool, talking, laughing and kissing until finally the sun began to come up and they stumbled back to the hotel.

The rest of the cast was sitting in the girls room, murmuring tiredly amongst themselves. As soon as Luc and Ashley walked in, they all stopped talking and stared at them.

Vanessa was the first to break the silence, "Oh my God!" She screamed, pointing to their clasped hands and grinning.

"Hi everyone!" Lucas cheered, grinning from ear to ear. "I guess this is kind of obvious but, we're finally together!" He informed them and everything clapped.

"Well it's about time!" Monique yelled, squeezing Ashley tightly then hugging Lucas. Corbin and Drew clapped Lucas on the back and Zac nudged him a little, "A little twincestuous, huh?"

Lucas blushed and they all laughed. That day, everyone from minor cast members to the crew smiled or congratulated them on finally seeing the light. Zac and Vanessa filmed the rest of 'Breaking Free' and that night they finished reshooting stuff from the balcony scene.

Sadly, the next two days were to be spent on the finale, which meant filming was almost over. They all rose extra early to don their costumes and makeup then they went to the big gym to stretch.

Kenny gathered them all in a circle in the middle of the gym, "This film has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I hope you all feel the same way. We've seen everything from injuries," He glanced at Ashley, "To fights," He looked over at Vanessa, "To new found friendships and love! Today should be about celebrating our lives as they are now because we won't always have this special moment! So today, let's have fun and really knock 'em dead! Now what team?!" He yelled and everyone screamed, "Wildcats!"

"What team?!"

"Wildcats!"

"What team?!"

"Wildcats!"

"Wildcats!"

"GET'CHA HEAD IN THE GAME!" Then they all began to jump around and scream. Ashley and Lucas walked over to the table and Lucas shrugged into his dress shirt.

Kenny told him to not wear it while they warmed up because the gym was too hot. Zac was only in his wife beater and was talking to a couple of the backup dancers. A camera came over to the twins and they began to talk about the craziness of all of the hustle going on.

"I'm a little nervous!" Lucas confessed, running a hand over his stomach,

"Oh, he'll be fine because he's perfect!" Ashley laughed, giving an "Ok" sign. Lucas laughed and shoved the hanger in her face and she ducked away. Kenny pulled out his handy megaphone and ordered everyone into position to get ready for filming.

Ashley stood just out of the camera range with Bonnie while Lucas jumped into the stands and began to chat with some of the people acting as fans. Vanessa stood on the other side of the gym, trying to put her shoe on and Zac positioned himself across from her behind a bunch of people.

"Everyone ready?" Kenny pumped them up. "Yeah!" They hollered back, "Okay, ready, set, action!" He yelled and the music started to play.

The cheerleaders did their little line then everyone started to move around in what looked like chaos but was actually perfectly choreographed. Zac began to lip sync to Drew's voice and glide around.

Britney, one of the cheerleaders, jumped out of formation to grind with him then spun away while Zac did the stupid guy chest bump with one of the extras. Then Corbin head-locked him and ruffled his hair. Vanessa slid into frame and began to spin around with Monique and Olesya. She grabbed Jared's hand and danced with him then he spun her around.

She was supposed to land in Zac's arms but instead, Zac grabbed her hair and she was knocked over. "I am so sorry!" Zac exclaimed, leaning down and helping her up. She grimaced at him and rubbed the tender spot on her head from where he'd pulled her hair.

"It's alright!" She reassured. Kenny started them again and they all had fun doing the dance.

Lucas ran across the bleachers and began to hip thrust. Ashley caught Vanessa's eye and they both silently giggled behind their hands, "Lucky!" Vanessa mouthed at her and Ashley winked back.

Kenny yelled "cut" and Lucas wiped some sweat from his brow. He jumped onto the ground and the extra dancers grouped around him.

"You guys ready?" Kenny asked them, gesturing for Chucky to move closer to them. "Okay, action!" Kenny yelled. Lucas jumped across them and they lifted him up easily. Kenny nodded to Ashley who walked forward and began to walk under him.

Suddenly, Lucas came crashing down on top of Ashley but thankfully, he caught most of his weight with his arms. One of the dancers had sneezed and let go of Lucas so he fell to the ground.

Lucas quickly rolled off of the young blonde and leapt to his feet then bent over her, "Ash! Ashley! Are you okay?" He demanded, pushing her hair out of her face to reveal her grinning.

"Couldn't keep your hands off me for more than five minutes, huh Luc?" she asked, holding out her arm.

Lucas rolled his eyes and grabbed her outstretched hand and easily lifted her to her feet.

"Are you sure you're okay, Ashley? Did you hit your head or anything?" Chucky asked, running his eyes over her to look for any bruises.

"I'm fine! My head hurts from Lucas' impressive six-pack squishing me but other than that, I'm great!" She laughed then flounced back to her original waiting spot.

"Well, okay! They build them tough in Jersey!" Kenny laughed and they started again. By lunch time, Vanessa and Ashley's feet were on fire from all of the dancing in heels. The boys stripped down to their undershirts to cool off and everyone was sprawled on the floor.

"You guys are doing awesome!" Kenny told them, handing out water bottles and sack lunches. They all mumbled their thanks and drained their waters.

"So after lunch, we should do all of the stuff before the song starts! Like the almost kiss and the "break a leg" scenes so we can focus on the after part tomorrow! Is that cool?"

"Yeah!" They all cheered, happy not to have to dance anymore. After lunch and a quick makeup check, everyone went to new positions. Zac was talking to one of the guys when Vanessa ran in and threw her arms around his neck, "Congratulations, Wildcat!" She squealed, laughing.

"What about your team?" He asked, spinning her around, "We won too!" They leaned in to kiss then paused with their mouths a centimeter apart so Corbin could jump in.

Unfortunately, Corbin was talking to Olesya and missed his cue.

"Anytime now, Corbin!" Zac muttered threw clenched teeth.

"Do we just kiss?" Vanessa asked. "Sure!" Zac laughed and quickly covered her mouth with his.

Kenny cleared his throat into the microphone, pointing it at Corbin, who jumped and looked around, "Oh yeah!" He remembered, then grabbed a basketball and jumped between the young couple, "Team voted you game ball, captain!" He choked out, trying not to laugh.

Kenny rolled his eyes, "Just a little late there, Mr. Bleu!" Corbin grinned sheepishly, "My bad!"

"Let's do it again," This time, Corbin jumped in at just the right time and they moved onto his and Monique's scene.

"You're coming with me to the after party, right?" He asked, cradling her in his arms.

"Like on a date?"

"Must be your lucky night!" He teased arrogantly. Monique giggled and grabbed Vanessa, "Chad just asked me out!" She squealed. Ashley and Lucas strutted up.

"Well, it looks like we're going to be the understudies in case you can't make one of the shows, so break a leg." Ashley put a hand on her hip and tried to look cool. Vanessa widened her eyes and glanced at Lucas.

"In theater that means good luck!" She started to walk forward but was stopped by Chris, "Hey Sharpay!" He started and said his line. Ashley smirked at him, "And why wouldn't you? Now bu-bye!"

She started to walk away but he stopped her again, "Here, I baked you these cookies!"

"Ew!" She wrinkled her nose and kept walked. Lucas stepped forward and took the cookies, "Nice game!" He nodded and grinned. Chris laughed a little, "Thanks!"

"And cut! That was great you guys!" They all smiled tiredly and shrugged off to get changed and go back to the hotel.

Lucas leaned close and brushed his mouth against Ashley's ear, "You know, we never did get to do our double date…" He whispered, wiggling his eyebrows.

Ashley turned and replied, "What ever are you suggesting?"

"You, me and anyone else who wants to come! We could go mini-golfing, bowling, see a movie, whatever."

Ashley laughed, "I love mini-golfing!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands.

Vanessa, who had been eavesdropping, jumped a little, "We should! Let's all go out because this is like our last night as a cast and we need to have fun!"

"Yeah!" Monique yelled, wrapping her arms around Drew's waist. Drew rubbed her shoulders and chuckled, "I take it you want to go too?" Monique gave him a 'duh' look and he sighed, "Alright! Corbin, you in?"

Corbin and Olesya, who had been kissing, pulled away and looked around at all of them.

"Sure, why not!"

"You have no idea what we're talking about, do you?"

"Sure I do!"

"What then?"

"Uh…hockey?" He guessed.

"I knew it!" Ashley yelled.

"We were talking about mini-golfing, Einstein!" Zac informed him.

"Oh! Sure! You wanna go, O?"

"Hell yeah!" Olesya cheered. "Then it's decided! To the mini-golf place!" Lucas yelled and they all walked down the street.

**Sorry about not updating last weekend! It's hard having two stories!! This one's kinda short and uneventful but it's better than nothing! Oh and I don't know what cheese whiz up the wazoo actually is but Lucas called HSM that so I decided to be clever and quote it! Do you guys want me to put the mini-golfing in the next chapter? I was going to put it in this one but I have another story to update and I'm tired! If you want me to, let me know in a review and I will! Thank you so much, as always! Love ya a hundred red skittles!**


	30. Chapter 30

They arrived and quickly got their clubs and balls. After a brief argument amongst the girls about who would get the pink ball, the boys broke it up and Ashley was the winner. Vanessa took a red ball, Olesya took the orange and Monique claimed the lime green one.

Lucas took yellow, Zac took blue and Drew took green. Olesya and Corbin went first; Corbin got a hole in one while Olesya hit the ball so hard, it flew over the fence and landed in the small river.

Corbin immediately dove in and retrieved her ball then stumbled back to her, sopping wet. They all rolled their eyes at him while Corbin bowed then wrapped his arms around Olesya's waist ("No, Corbin! You're soaked!") and helped her to hit the ball into the hole.

Everyone applauded and Ashley gave the wet girl her sweatshirt. Next went Zac and Vanessa. Zac hit his ball wild and it totally missed the hole. Vanessa rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around him to help guide his club.

Lucas and Drew were in hysterics while Ashley and Monique were doing catcalls at him. He glared at all of them and stepped to the side while Vanessa expertly hit her ball into the hole.

Ashley skipped up and swung her club back as far as she could then whacked it into the obstacle so it bounced off and hit Lucas in the forehead. Ashley screamed and grabbed his face and pulled it closer to hers to examine the bruise that was forming.

Lucas sighed good naturedly, "Can you not go two minutes without trying to kill me?" He teased.

Ashley blushed a little and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm sorry! It really was an accident!"

"It's alright, Ash, I think I'll live!" He reassured then kissed her on the forehead and pivoted her around to finish putting.

As she was winding up (?) Lucas reached forward and smacked her on the rump. Ashley leapt forward and squealed then turned around but instead of hitting him, mauled him with kisses.

After a few moments, Drew stepped between them and separated them while saying, "Make room for the Holy Ghost."

They broke away and started laughing.

Drew shrugged and stepped back to Monique. Ashley finally hit her ball and eventually got it in. Lucas hit his ball and it slowly rolled in.

Monique and Drew followed. They, however, had a little trouble and after several attempts, both got their balls in way over par. A few holes later, Vanessa was having problems hitting her ball and Zac kept trying to help but he didn't have good aim either.

Finally, Drew stepped forward and held the ball close to her club and instructed her to hit it. She nodded and swung the club only to have it connect with his wrist. He groaned and clutched his wrist to his chest while falling to the ground.

Vanessa's eyes widened and she quickly knelt next to him and gingerly pulled his wrist away from where he'd curled it to his body. Vanessa lightly kissed his wrist and supported it while Monique took off the shawl she was wearing in her hair and began to make an impromptu sling.

Lucas knelt next to Vanessa and turned Drew's wrist while Drew sucked in his breath and closed his eyes. Then Lucas took the sling and put it over Drew's shoulder while Vanessa guided his hand into the shawl.

Monique helped him up and he grinned, "Thank God for resilience!" Vanessa apologized profusely and Drew shrugged it off.

With difficulty, they finished their game then went out to dinner.

Monique cut Drew's food for him then fed him even though he said he could do it himself. Ashley casually stretched her feet into Lucas' lap and he pretended not to notice until he began to tickle them.

She shrieked and jumped and slid to the ground. Lucas high-fived Zac then Vanessa lightly kicked Zac under the table. Zac pouted at her and she rolled her eyes.

Olesya helped Ashley back up while Corbin laughed hysterically at her. Olesya smashed some ice cream into his face and Ashley laughed in his face. Lucas and Ashley split a brownie cake and he fed her some off his spoon. She giggled and he grinned at her.

Vanessa simpered and pouted at Zac, who glared at Lucas and dipped a strawberry in chocolate then gallantly handed it to her. She smiled at him and popped it in her mouth.

"Okay kids, time to group up!" Drew instructed, paying for all of them and pushing back.

"Thanks Drew." They all chanted and he laughed, "Anytime guys!"

Since it was their last night before most of them would be done filming, they stayed up all night talking, crying and watching movies. The next morning, Ashley woke up early and decided to go for a walk.

She opened the door only to find Lucas standing there. She opened her mouth to scream but Lucas clapped a hand over her mouth to silence it. She giggled and he offered her his arm which she took and they quickly walked to the elevator then outside.

"What will we do?" She asked suddenly and Lucas turned towards her.

"What do you mean?"

"What will we do when the movies over?"

"Uh, go home and start looking for more auditions?" Lucas guessed.

Ashley laughed, "I meant all of us couples, what will we do?"

"Just because we're not on the same set doesn't mean we can't still see each other. We all live in California anyway, so it's not like we're across the country from each other!"

Ashley shrugged, "I guess."

"As of right now, nothing could possibly keep me from you." Lucas pulled her close to him and she threw her arms around him inhaling his scent.

With tears in her eyes, she pulled back, "Okay." She whispered and he grinned and kissed her gently on the mouth.

"I guess we should go back inside and get ready."

"I don't want it to end." Ashley groaned but she wasn't sure if she was referring to the moment or the movie.

"I don't either." He replied and together, they slowly walked back to their hotel.

Hours later, they all were decked out in costume again and were getting ready for their final day of filming.

Vanessa and Ashley were laughing at Chris, who was skipping around in a blonde wig while lip-syncing to "Hips Don't Lie."

_Everyone is special in their own way, we make each other strong, we're not the same, we're different in a good way. Together's where we belong!_

Lucas' best friend Marc and his sister and mother came onto set that day and he gave them a tour of the gym and introduced them to all of his co-stars. Ashley and Autumn (Lucas' sister) hit it off right away and she began to teach her the dance.

_We're all in this together, once we know that we are we're all stars and we see that! We're all in this together and it shows when we stand hand in hand make our dreams come true!_

Kenny gathered them all together and ordered them to get into formation. They began to warm up their voices and fool around to loosen their muscles.

_We're all in here and speaking out of one voice! We're gonna rock the house, yeah yeah! The party's on, now everybody make some noise! Come on, scream and shout!_

They ran through the dance once and all of the crew applauded.

"That take was amazing! I don't think we have to do it again but we're going to anyway!" Kenny cheered and the all faked enthusiasm.

_We've arrived because we stuck together, champions one and all!_

For the final time, they did the entire finale and by the end they all were exhausted but happy. Ashley had tears running down her face as she hugged Vanessa and Mo and kissed Lucas.

"You're crying, you know?" Lucas told her and she giggled.

"I know."

Vanessa was crying on Zac's shoulder and Monique was trying not to cry while talking to Drew.

"Okay, Ashley we have your final scene set up. Everyone clear but Chris and Ashley, please!" Kenny yelled. He had decided if he was more business like today, he wouldn't feel as sad.

Ashley wiped her eyes and they touched up her makeup then she exited the gym and waited with the dancer Jared right outside the door.

Chris picked up a balloon and wandered around the gym, looking very sad. Jared waited for the signal then shoved Ashley through the doors.

She sprinted inside with the cookies. "These cookies are amazing! The best things I've ever tasted!" She screamed then threw them over her shoulder, "Will you make some more for me, Zeke?!" Then began to run through the balloons.

Her heels popped one of them and she screamed at the noise and fell onto some more balloons then flew out from underneath her.

Chris helped her up and she winced at her sore legs.

Kenny wiped his eyes from laughing so hard, "Are you alright, Miss Tizz?"

"I'm spantabulous!" Then flounced back outside the gym and started again.

"Will you make some more for me, Zeke?!" This time, she ran through the balloons more carefully. Chris began to run away but Ashley threw her arms around his waist and grinned at him.

"I might even make you a crème Brule!"

She laughed out loud and he stuck his tongue out at the camera before stepping out of frame.

Everyone applauded extra loud and they all did a huge group hug and began to chant "Wildcats!"

_We're all in this together, when we reach, we can fly! No inside, we can make it! We're all in this together, once we see there's a chance that we have and we take it! Wildcats everywhere, wave your hands up in the air! That's the way we do it, let's get to it, come on everyone!_

**Yay for chapter 30! Is it too fluffy? I felt like typing the song at the end because I have it stuck in my head! Is it kind of random? I was just typing for fun! So what do you think? Anything you want to see as we near the final chapters? Speak now or forever hold your peace! Love all of the reviews! Thank you! XOXO**


	31. Chapter 31

**Epilogue**

7.7 million viewers tuned in to watch High School Musical, Disney Channel's newest Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM)

"High School Musical rides high…"

"Disney manages to incorporate diversity without making it an issue, perhaps knowing that in high school, popularity is the only demographic that really matters" School Musical is a huge phenomenon, with kids young and old…" says Gordon Ho, executive vice president of brand marketing and business development at Buena Vista Home Entertainment"

Needless to say, High School Musical became a smash hit in one short weekend. After wrapping up filming back at the end of the summer, Ashley and the rest of the cast flew home and continued to search for work.

They all met up again to attend the premier and had a great night, joking around and catching up. A few days later, the ratings came in.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before I tell you what everyone thought of our movie, I feel the need to give a lengthy speech." Kenny informed them.

Ashley and Vanessa had bags at their feet, for they were driving to the airport together to fly home that afternoon. Monique and Adele were sitting on a couch also surrounded by bags.

Drew, Lucas, Corbin, Zac and Olesya were not leaving until that night.

"Since day one, I have watched you all grow and develop into fantastic young actors. Not only actors, but young adults, ready to take on the world. It is such an honor to have seen you guys grow with one another and learn the ropes of show business. Words cannot describe how proud I am of all you of you and I hope that you realize how truly talented and wonderful you are."

Ashley and Vanessa hugged each other, tears rolling down their cheeks while Adele kissed Monique on the head. Lucas and the boys exchanged high fives.

"So, I feel the need to inform you that…" Kenny trailed off for dramatic effect.

"Out with it, man!"

"Come on, spit it out!"

"Tell us!"

"High School Musical pulled in 7.7 MILLION VIEWERS!"

Ashley and Vanessa screamed and began jumping up and down. Ashley threw herself into Lucas' arms and screamed some more while he winced but grinned just the same.

"As of right now, this is the most popular DCOM made to date!" Vanessa and Zac began jumping around singing 'Breaking Free' while Monique and Drew danced to the music.

Corbin lifted Olesya into his arms and spun around with her. Ashley stood on her toes and kissed Lucas on the cheek but he grabbed her face and tilted it towards his and kissed her softly.

Ashley giggled and entwined her arms behind his neck while he pulled her even closer.

"Woooooh!" Corbin mocked, kissing Olesya quickly. Lucas pulled back and glared at him then grinned.

"Congratulations!" Kenny yelled, popping the cork on a giant bottle of root beer.

Ashley, Monique, Vanessa and Olesya tackled Kenny with a huge bear hug.

"You're the best director ever, Kenny!" They crowed. The guys leaned over and pulled the girls off of him then tackled him themselves.

"Okay, guys! I get it, I'm amazing!" Kenny joked, finally getting up and grinning at them.

"To us!" Ashley yelled, holding up her glass in toast.

"To us!"

After that, High School Musical exploded. Talk shows and radio stations around the country began harassing Disney, hoping to get in on it.

Fans began to swarm the cast wherever they went. It got so bad one night, Larry had to sneak Ashley out of a restaurant in his huge overcoat.

A dance along was scheduled to appear in the spring so the cast congregated at the studio in California to shoot it.

Lucas was ecstatic that for once he got to wear jeans and a normal shirt rather than khakis and an oxford.

"Hey Luc, nice civilian wear!" Zac teased, pulling on his green sweat shirt.

"Ha-ha very funny, Zac man."

"Okay, enough!" Vanessa intervened, putting an arm through Zac's. "Kenny wants us to meet him in the room now so he can give us notes before we begin."

Ashley snuck up behind Lucas and was about to jump him when he spun around and tackled her to the ground.

She screamed at the top of her lungs as she landed flat on her back. "LUCAS GRABEEL!" She yelled, only half-angry.

"ASHLEY TISDALE!" He yelled back, grinning mischievously.

"That's not fair!" She pouted, "I was going to surprise you!"

"You're stealth skills are in need of improvement, dear." He replied, "I could hear you very well."

"Yeah well, uh, too bad!" Ashley shot back, the rest of her anger evaporating by the second.

"Fine, next time, I'll humor you and pretend I'm deaf." He relented and she beamed.

"Thank you, Lukie!" She chanted, using the irking nickname his parents used to use on him before he made them stop.

Lucas grimaced and stood up, pulled Ashley up with him. "We're late, you know?" He asked, slipping an arm around her waist.

She rested her head on his shoulder and they slowly walked down the hall.

"I know."

He rested his head on top of hers and smiled, "Well, as long as we both know, I guess it doesn't matter."

Finally, they arrived in the room where about twenty extra dancers and Vanessa and Zac were milling around.

"Now that we are all here, let's get started!" Kenny yelled. They were supposed to be using scripted dialogue in the beginning, but it sounded forced and strange, so they altered it a little.

They also danced around a lot with each other. Vanessa and Lucas began to grind a little and Kenny came in and made them stop.

Ashley pretended to slap Vanessa while Zac and Lucas got into a mock fight.

Zac resumed teaching 'Get'cha Head in the Game.

"Now we're going to hop forward twice!" He instructed then proceeded to jump forward three times. Lucas, Vanessa and Ashley stifled their laughter and allowed him to finish teaching.

Then Lucas began to teach 'We're All in This Together.'

"With jazz hands!" Zac exclaimed, wiggling his fingers.

"Dude, did you just say jazz hands?"

"Yeah!" Lucas and Zac did their little handshake. Ashley popped across Lucas and spread her fingers and Lucas grabbed her and pulled her back to her position.

Ashley stepped forward next and performed the "Wildcat break down."

"Let's show our Wildcat pride by making claws and pouncing right then left." She digressed a little during the disco point part but realized she was getting off track.

"Hey, why don't I get to teach anything?" Vanessa pouted.

"Oh yeah…" Kenny realized, staring off into space, "Sorry Ness! I guess it slipped my mind about the fact that there are four of you! Here, you can announce the final count!"

He led her to the center and Vanessa pretended to scowl then grinned and winked at the camera, "5,6,7,8!"

They did the dance once more then began to dance in front of the camera again. "And that's a wrap!" Kenny shouted and they all cheered.

Ashley and Vanessa began to twirl around with Lucas and Zac, singing 'I Can't Take My Eyes of Off You' Ashley glanced at Lucas and smiled secretly then walked over to him and slid her hand into his.

Zac put one arm around Vanessa and the other around Ashley and they all turned and walked out of the studio, memories pulling them closer together until it was too hard to decipher where one ended and the next began.

_Who can say if I've been changed for the better?  
I do believe I have been changed for the better?  
And because I knew you  
Because I knew you  
Because I knew you  
I have been changed for good…_

**And so ends this story. Okay, first off, the quotes and comments at the beginning are not mine! I got them through various sources offline! And the last song is 'For Good' from Wicked! Sorry, I should have warned you that this was going to be the last chapter! For those of you who wanted Lucas to propose for Ashley: Sorry, but they only just got together and I want to keep this relatively realistic! I would love for them to be married but they can't right now. Words cannot fathom how grateful I am for all 300 and change reviews! Thank so much for the compliments, suggestions, criticism and feedback! Because of you, I made this story long and successful! So, thank you (again) and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I may write a sequel to this covering the trips, the tour and such but I'm definitely going to take a break for now! Well, it's been nice amusing you! Don't forget to check out my other stories! Lot's of love from me to you! **


	32. Chapter 32

Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that I finally posted the sequel to When Dreams Come True! It's called I Will Be Me so if you have a few minutes, please check it out and let me know what you think! It picks up with the tour and will cover touring, Ashley's album release, Corbin's album release, possibly HSM2, maybe the DC Games, and hopefully the South American tour. But that's a lot so who knows?! Let me know what you think of the ideas and if there's anything or anyone you want to see in this one! Thank you so much!

Love, Music of the Night


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